Team Fortress Challenge
by Celestial-moon-fire
Summary: It's basically just one hundred stories, some may or may not fit together, some may be about pairings and others about Engineers and their Smeagol-like obsession with machines... Oh, and plenty of Koalas... Rated T as of now... Stories get longer, too. On Hiatus for now.
1. Cemetery

001. Cemetery

Sniper sighed quietly as he explored the vast cemetery. It was quiet, and well after dark, but he couldn't rest without seeing the Scout off. They weren't friends, he wasn't there long enough (barely a week) for anyone to really make a relationship with him, but he was still part of the Team. He reached the stone marked with the Scout's name, and making sure no one was around to see, dropped a dandelion on the mound of freshly dug earth.

No one was sure why the respawn system failed to pick him up, but it had everyone afraid. The Engineer was working on the machine at the moment, hoping to find the bug before it happened again.

The Sniper wasn't so sure it was a bug. Each of them had a card inserted into the machine with their respawn profile, so they didn't come back with extra parts that belongs to other people. It was possible that the card had been damaged, or not properly inserted.

Perhaps the administrator had never sent it in the first place.

Either way, Sniper had a feeling the respawn machine would be found in perfect working condition. And when he asked the Engineer, he would mention the respawn profiles weren't in order.

He shook his head. He'd spent far too long here. With a last nod towards the grave, he made his way back to base. The graves seemed to stare as he passed. Were all these unfortunate souls the same? Did they, like the Scout, die when they thought respawn would pick them up? There were so many he wasn't sure if you could even say that all their profiles were mishandled.

There must have been at least a hundred, and all for his area near Dustbowl. It was too many to believe.

Too many lives.

* * *

><p>(Made it longer as per request to make things longer xD these firsts ones are so short .w. So I'm addingmore onto them~)<p> 


	2. Blood

002. Blood

The rusty scent of blood was heavy in the air. The Sniper took a deep breath, enjoying the pungent odour as he waited for the round to begin. He set up a box of spare ammunition on an empty crate to his left, and placed his knife on the ground by the small window. He had a clear shot at the RED respawn base, and as soon as the Announcer counted to one, he lined up with the Scout, bathing both the Medic and the Heavy behind him in a spray of blood.

He couldn't help but grin as their faces betrayed a shocked surprise. The scout was sure to be annoyed, no doubts. Too bad for him Sniper was so well hidden. Not even the Spy would find him this time, so high on his tower. He could barely make it to the top, after all. The BLU base was a slippery building, and the walls were particularly high on this base.

Everything would be perfect. This time the REDs wouldn't lose, not when the respawn room was sitting directly across from him, where they wouldn't look. Who would ever imagine a RED Sniper climbing the BLU base, after all. There was even a space to hide if things got iffy. A shadowed roof that stood over him. There was a window, but after peering inside he could tell no one was making their way through it.

A drop nearly fifteen feet high was perfect cover. Unless they planned to climb up after him, there was no way. The other team could barely make it out of the respawn room at the rate he was going. A permanent line of crimson blood marked their zone of inhibition clearly, and by the time the mission was over, they weren't even close to the point.

Perfect cover.

* * *

><p>(Also made this one longer~)<p> 


	3. Tattoo

003. Tattoo  
>"Why do you have a tattoo of a Koala on your ankle?" Scout asked, examining the tattoo that took residence on Sniper's now twisted ankle. The whole team was aware of Sniper's hatred for the foul little beasts, so he couldn't help but wonder why it was there.<p>

"That Koala taunted me for years, before I finally took 'im down. He's the one that went and took a part of my ear." Sniper replied as he rolled a fresh bandage over the swollen flesh. "Hand me that medkit, would you?"

Scout did so, and watched Sniper swallow the pill version of whatever Medic had in his Medigun. "Why on your ankle, though? And If he was hard to kill why do you want him there any ways?"

"He's on my ankle because I don't want to spend all day starin' at his ugly mug." Sniper smirked. "Ugly as it is, though, I considered the little beast as my rival, and it's only proper to keep a reminder of my victory."

* * *

><p>Yes... I am fully awar my Sniper for the BLU team is weird... xD Just wait until ypu meet my RED Spy.<p> 


	4. Laugh

004. Laugh  
>Sniper ducked under the sill of his sniping post window, laughing merrily. He could hear the RED Spy cursing a few feet below him as he identified the liquid in the jar dropped moments before on his unsuspecting head.<p>

"Sniper!" He roared. " When I get up there you're DEAD!"

Sniper stuck his head out the window and looked down at the Spy. "It's nothin' you don't deserve mate." The Red Spy scowled and aimed his Ambassador, but Sniper was already inside. He quickly gathered his spare ammunition, swung the rifle over his shoulder, and brandished his knife in a defensive manner as he fled the building before the Red Spy could reach him.


	5. Dawn

005. Dawn  
>"Mmm, finally, a moment to myself." Sniper sighed quietly, leaning back against the slanted roof as he watched the sky slowly begin to lighten. He gripped a warm cup of coffee, relishing the feel of steam rising towards his face. As he drank the steaming hot liquid, he could hear a crunch of footsteps coming up behind him.<p>

"Bonjour Monsieur tireur isolé." The BLU Spy said quietly. Voices were known to carry in the Viaduct.

"Good mornin' Spy." Sniper replied. Spy brushed away a patch of snow and sat next to Sniper. "You're up early today."

"So are you mon ami." Spy replied, staring up at the sky. "No one else vas avake, and I though you might be lonely up 'ere in zhe cold."

Sniper eyed him carefully. "Really." Sniper nodded thoughtfully, holding his coffee in one hand as he reached through his pocket for his knife. "I appreciate the thought, mate, but you'll have to do better than that."  
>"Vhat-" The Spy yelped as Sniper sloshed the remaining coffee in his face, and tackled him. The disguise shimmered for a moment before revealing a blinded RED Spy.<p>

"'Ow did you know?" He hissed.

"That's for you to find out on your own, mate." With that he drove the pocket knife through the RED Spy's neck. A thin layer of blood covered his hands, which he wiped on the dead Spy's suit, before standing and kicking him over the edge of the building.

* * *

><p>Oh, that silly Spy. Lulz.<p> 


	6. Sleepless

006. Sleepless

Sniper tossed and turned for nearly an hour, unable to sleep. He knew whose fault it was, too. It was that RED Spy, who hadn't shown up once to the battlefield that day. He had to be planning something, and it was driving Sniper insane trying to figure it out.

"Perhaps he's going to sneak in for the intelligence!"

Sniper sat up and wasted no time getting dressed and rushing out of the room to check. As soon as he was gone, the RED Spy uncloaked himself, chuckling.

"Oui, but not zhe intelligence you zhink I am 'ere for..." He went to a box, still unpacked, sitting on the Sniper's temporary desk. From watching him earlier, while he transferred his belongings to the base for the winter, Spy knew where he kept a map marked with his normal Sniping positions.

Spy hadn't found all of them, but with these maps, he would have an easier job of it. Wasting no time, he snapped pictures of each map, and made his quick escape before Sniper returned.


	7. Protect

007. Protect (Ooo, look at that, I'm giving the spotlight to my RED Sniper and BLU Spy now~ xD)

The RED Sniper caught sight of the BLU Medic just as he rounded the corner, closely followed by Scout. He winced as the heavy metal bat connected with Medic's head, making a loud crunch that he could hear on the other side of the field.

"Never stood a chance." He turned the scope of his rifle, cross-hair dancing over a Soldier's helmet. He was about to take the shot when an explosion rattled the building and shook off his aim. Sniper cursed, relining the shot, but realized the building was still shaking.

When the tall wooden building began to sway, Sniper took it as an invitation to get out, slinging his rifle over his back and grabbing his knife. Just as the building crumbled, he made it out the back door and ducked behind a large pine tree, heart racing. He peered around the thick trunk, to find that he was trapped. There was no way he'd find a way past the tree and to safety.

Sniper took a deep breathe and tried to think of a plan. He was still unsure what to do, when the other RED Sniper joined him- Wait, other RED Sniper?

"...Claude?" He nodded, peering around the tree.

"Take zis." The BLU Spy, disguised as himself, dropped a cloaking device in Sniper's hand. "It's zhe blue button. It'll last for 'alf a minute, which should be enough to get you to cover." Sniper nodded, slipping the watch over his wrist.

"Thank you." Sniper pressed the blue button. "I'll be in that building on the far end, by the RED base. I'll return it there." Spy nodded as the cloaked Sniper escaped, wishing him luck.

* * *

><p>My RED Sniper and BLU Spy are a crossfaction pairing, but my RED Spy and BLU Sniper are just enemies that sometimes are sort of on friendly terms but still kill each other anyways.<p> 


	8. Taste

008. Taste

"'Ow do you drink zhis?" The BLU spy made a face as he set the Number One Sniper mug back on a crate. "Eet tastes like crap..."

"There's nothin' wrong with my coffee." To prove it, he reached for the now room-temperature coffee and swallowed a mouthful of it. Spy rolled his eyes, disgusted.

"Eet's too strong." He said. "Not to mention eet's decaf. 'Ow does anyone drink decaf?"

"Same way you drink regular, I s'pose. Ya just swallow it."

"Oh shut up." Spy huffed. "If you need me, know I'll be capturing your Intel, instead of keeping you company in zhis stuffy leetle room."  
>"Mmhmm. Mind the sentries by the pipe." Sniper replied absently, lining up his rifle scope with the enemy Pyro.<p> 


	9. School

009. School

"Why'd you join the war instead of finding a nice college ta go to?" Engineer asked. Scout shrugged, sitting on a crate.

"We didn't have the money to. I have six older brothers, remember?" Engineer nodded. "Mom wanted me to go. I wanted to go, too, but I figured since my grades weren't that good no one would want accept me."

"Don't your brothers have jobs?"

"Yea, but they don't make much either. And two of them are still in school, training up for one of those fancy degrees like you got..." He shook his head. "Most of the money I make fightin' I send back to help keep them there. Mom's job doesn't pay well, so it's hard. And they don't really have much time to work either, with all them classes they take."

Engineer stared at the young Scout thoughtfully. He'd never really seen Scout act like this before.

"Maybe after my contract ends... I might try and get into a school, but I'm not sure what I'd do. All I can do is run and hit things."

"I'm sure something will come to ya." Engineer replied, ruffling the young BLU's hair.


	10. Watch

010. Watch

"Eet is... 'Ard to watch 'im fighting all zhe time. I know 'e cannot die 'ere... Respawn 'andles that vorry. But I don't like it." Spy shifted, folding his hands over his chest. He took a deep breathe. The air smelled like dust and gunpowder.

"I watch 'im all zhe time, and zhe rest of zhe team is starting to give me veird looks." The BLU Sniper sighed, watching the RED Spy carefully as he prattled on about someone on his team.

"Spy, not that I don't appreciate ya not killin' me today, but I don't want to listen to you talking about someone I don't even know."

Spy shot up, suddenly pacing. "But you do know 'im, quite well, in fact. Zhe Scout and you are close, non?"

Sniper blinked. The Scout? THEIR Scout? The BLU one?

"Why would ya worry so much about our Scout?"

"Eet is not important. I just vant you to keep an eye on 'im for me when I cannot, oui?"

"I... Suppose I can do that." Sniper replied, still confused.

* * *

><p>Lol... Anyone else watch 'Meet the Spy' yet~? xD<p> 


	11. Breathe Again

011. Breathe Again

Scout's breathing had become very shallow. The RED spy panicked. He couldn't call for the Medic, since the two were deep in BLU territory, else he'd give there position to the enemy, and he couldn't leave the Scout alone. Ceasefire was growing close. Maybe the Scout would survive long enough-

"Scout!" He cursed aloud when the breathing grew even fainter. He decided to risk it and bring the Scout back to the RED side. Activating the first disguise that showed up on his kit, the BLU Heavy, he picked up the RED Scout and made a dash from behind the mine cart. The disguise wouldn't be of much use if they saw him with the Scout, but it would be enough if his back was to them.

Scout shuddered in his arms as Spy ran, keeping to cover as much as he could. The sound of a Heavy's Russian accent yelled at him, and its minigun roared to life behind him, and he cursed even more. The enemy Heavy had seen him. A bullet grazed his cheek and another lodged in his shoulder, nearly causing him to drop the Scout. Luckily the Heavy must have been far away, else the bullets would have been much closer together.

'Nearly there, nearly there, nearly there...' just as he crossed into RED territory, Spy cried out in pain. Another spray of bullets, this time closer, tore into his skin. He was lucky to make a dive behind a pile of debris. He could now see his team ahead, including the medic. He wasted no time in calling for him, finding his vision had begun to blur on him. He breathed shakily, watching the medic heal Scout with the medigun. Scout 's breathing picked up, loud and gasping as he bolted upwards, looking around wildly. Spy let out a shaky relieved breath as the medic turned the medigun on him.

He didn't know the extent of the damage, but he was sure he'd need to stay the rest of the battle out, waiting for the medic to remove the bullets after ceasefire. Someone helped him through a transporter, and through the base towards the medbay. He couldn't tell who, as his vision blurred and sounds were distorted. Eventually his vision failed altogether, and he was left in the blackness of unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Fff, my RED Spy likes Scouts xD<p>

...

Not like that you creep 8I


	12. Under the Rain

012. Under the Rain

The BLU's Spy yawned, stretching his tired limbs as he leaned back against a tree trunk. He waited patiently, watching the clouds swirl in the sky.

Before long, a soft muffled pair of footsteps reached his ears. Spy didn't move, already knowing who it was. They sat next to him, equally silent as Spy scooted closer, resting his head on the RED Sniper's shoulder.

"It looks like rain t'night." Sniper finally said.

As if on cue, thick beads of rain began to splash down on the pair, angled so that the tree they sat under couldn't protect them.

* * *

><p>Fluff... how we love thee~<p> 


	13. Precious Treasure

013. Precious Treasure

Folding open the envelope, the BLU Engineer pulled out several pages of news from home. Also enclosed was a picture. He set the letters down and stared at the picture. It showed both his Wife and Daughter smiling at him. The carefree look on their faces made even himself smile, despite the war going on around him.

He flipped the picture to find a short description. That made him frown. It was taken on the date of her sixth birthday... Another birthday he'd missed.

Engineer often reflected on the time he'd lost with his family since joining the Builders League United. Nearly four years, in fact. He wouldn't be surprised if he went home and his little Susan couldn't remember him.

Sighing, he shook off his slightly depressed mood and folded the picture neatly, slipping it into his shirt pocket.

* * *

><p>Dun be sad Engie :ohnoes: You has Sentry and Dispenser!<p> 


	14. Sunlight

014. Sunlight (Lulz... I put like no effort into pacing this one xD And FTR, Claude ((Mein BLU Spy~)) Rambles when he's nervous xD))

It was a beautiful day for a ceasefire. The sun was shining brightly over a cloudless day, and the temperature was at an unusual low. Both teams agreed to a day of no fighting to enjoy the conditions. Everyone was happy to go out and enjoy the sun on the BLU team. Scout even organized a game of baseball amongst them.

Everyone had joined the game but three, the medic, who was in his office, scribbling on patient files, the Sniper, who no one could find on ceasefire days but he Spy, and the Spy himself... Who was probably with the Sniper.

Which was a truth; he really was with the Sniper... He just didn't know it. Claude had always wondered where Bennett would run off to during ceasefire days.

Claude hadn't in tended to follow the Sniper, he just happened to be going the same direction at the time, on his way to the RED base. His watch told him that he wasn't in much rush for time, as he had at least half an hour until his meeting, and he just couldn't pass up the opportunity to find out what his mysterious friend did on off days...

He didn't seem to do much, of course. In the few minutes Claude watched, he just sat there, sharpening his knife. Claude blinked. Was this really what he did all day? Sharpen his already ungodly sharp knife?

Though every so often he would glance towards the RED base. Like he was waiting for something to happ-

"Vell vhat do vee 'ave 'ere?"

Claude jumped, trying to turn and see who had just whispered so quietly into his ear- though the accent should have been obvious- and backed into a fallen tree trunk all at the same time. Arms flailing, he was unable to find his balance and landed hard on his back. Hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.

"What are you doing here?" Bennett jumped to his feet. The RED Spy chuckled as he uncloaked, foot planted roughly on the BLU Spy's chest.

"Get offa him, would ya?" The RED Spy sent Bennett a look but stepped off, waiting until the BLU Spy could catch his breathe again.

"It seems we 'ave been caught in the act, mon ami." RED shrugged.

"You aren't helpin' much." The Sniper shot back a rather nasty glare. "What were you doing back there, spyin' on me or something?"

"N-non! I mean I vas, but I vas about to leave, I mean I didn't plan on eet, ve vere just going zhe same vay so I zought maybe I vould vatch for a few minutes because ve all vonder vhat you do on ceasefire days, it was just curiosity I svear, eet's not like I vas going to vatch you all day, zat vould be so boring! Er, n-not to say you're boring I just..."

Eventually Bennett cut the rambling Spy off.

"Alright, you made your point. We get it." Claude looked slightly relieved.

"I zhink ve should kill him." And rthen he felt unrelived again. Sure he would respawn, but dieing was still painful...

"That's only a temporay solution. We can't keep killing him. Besides, I'm rather fond of this Spy. Unlike others I know, this one doesn't cheat at cards."

"...cards? You don't want to kill me because I don't cheat at cards? 'Ow insulting!" He crossed his arms and huffed, catching the time on his watch. "Oh merde! I running late! Ve can discuss zis later, yes?"

"Now wait a minute here Spy, you aren't leaving until I know you won't tell on us!"

"...I doubt 'e vill." RED shrugged. "After all, you vere 'eading to my base for your own meeting, veren't you?"

"'O-ow did you-" He caught his mistake and tried to fix it. "I mean, of course I vasn't!" he could tell the others didn't buy it. Especially the RED Spy, who produced a square photo from his pocket.

"You vere going to meet vith zhe ozher Sniper, oui?" The photo showed Claude with the RED Sniper. He snatched at it, but the other Spy drew it away just in time. "I am sure you don't vant zhe ozhers to find out about vis, oui?" Claude nodded grudgeingly. "If you tell zhem about zhis meeting, zen I tell zhen about you and zhe ozther Sniper. Deal?"

"Claude nodded. Oui, I von't tell, I svear."

"You can go zhen." RED handed him the picture. "You've been quite silent, mon ami." He said to Bennett. Claude's curiosity got the better of him again.

"So, are you..."

"Not a chance in hell." Bennett said blankly. "I'll answer your questions later."

"O-oui..." Claude nodded and finally headed towards the RED base, conscious of the two sets of eyes watching him until he was safely cloaked and inside the base, at the meeting point for him and his own Sniper.

* * *

><p>Lol that was terrible xD And it kinda veered away from the theme... Oh well. I mentioned sun in the beginning at least~? xD<p> 


	15. Darkness

015. Darkness (Shameless Fluff xD)

"We can't keep meetin' like this, Claude." The RED Sniper stated suddenly, breaking the silence. The BLU Spy currently resting his head on his shoulder sighed. "Someone's bound ta find out eventually."

"I know, I know..." He sighed heavily, watching the sliver of moon shine through the dark clouds. "I don't even vant to zhink about vat 'appens ven zey do..."

"Do ya think we should stop these meetins' then?" Spy blinked.

"...do you vant to?"

"Not really." Sniper wrapped an arm around the Spy.

"Me neizher." He returned the gesture, pressing himself closer.

* * *

><p>It's short, but it's my favourite so far xD And it's under darkness because... *swishes batman cape* Zey meet in zee dark hours of zee night! *is shot*<p> 


	16. Friend

016. Friend

"And why should I trust ya, anyhow?" Sniper asked. Currently he had his deathly-sharp Kukri resting on the RED Spy's chest. The Spy in question held his hands up, to show he had no weapons.

"I 'ave proof, in zat disk." Sniper eyed him suspiciously.

"I still don't trust ya. You'll have to try harder, mate." He pressed the blade harder, causing the Spy to wince. Sniper wasn't sure if he should believe the Spy, even if he came without a single weapon on him. He was certainly good enough at lying to be hiding a trick up his sleeve.

"Mon ami, vhy vould I lie about somezhing like zhis?" True. It was going pretty far to accuse their employers of working together.

"Hmm... Tell ya what. I'll look over the disk..." Spy sighed, relieved. "And after you respawn come see me again for an answer."

"Vhat-!" Spy choked on his words as Sniper thrust the sharp blade through his chest. Before the Spy was sent to respawn, Sniper reached into his pocket and grabbed the disk the Spy had mentioned.

* * *

><p>Hey, remember theme 14? Sunlight? Well, this happens before then, so that's why they were meeting! xD To disguss the Intel~ (Oh Bennet, you bloodthirsty little- *run through with Kukri*)<p>

Oh, BTW, names! I started useing them a bit more, like in 14.

Bennett is BLU Sniper

Marcel is RED Spy

Cluade is BLU Spy

And RED Sniper had a name I didn't like so I scrapped it and currently am searching the interwebneticals for a new one~


	17. Love

017. Love

Engineer peeked over a ledge, glaring at any passing BLUs. For all he knew, they could be Spies, waiting to sap his babies.

"There there Gloria, I won't let a filthy Spy sap ya." He lovingly stroked the sentry's gun barrel. Turning, he reached over to pat the Dispenser's head. "They won't get near either of you."

"Engineer! Is that dispenser up yet?" A Scout ran in, out of breathe and bleeding heavily. He didn't wait for an answer and moved closer, reaching for his machine.

"Back! Back away, ya SPAH!" He whacked the Scout as hard as he could with the wrench, which was pretty hard, too. "Keep your filthy RED paws offa Susan." Scout was out cold before he hit the floor. Demoman stood in the doorway, twitching. Engineer hissed at him.

"I'll jist find a medipack..." He fled the doorway, and the Engineer turned to his machines again. "You're safe in my hands. I'll remove this spah from the room; I can tell he's unnervin' yah." With that, the Engineer picked the Scout up and heaved him through the wide window, where he landed on the point, still out cold.

* * *

><p>(What? A man can't name his SentryDispenser after his family and covet them like Smeagol and his ring~? *shotshotshot* xD

Lulz.

I do this with my Sentries and Dispensers. I have to hit everyone and make sure they aren't gonna sap ma babies~))

So, more names.

We know from 13 that Susan is my Engineer's daughter (She's six) and his wife's name is Gloria~

The Scout's name (BLU Scout) is Lowell

This Demoman is named Finley


	18. Hate

018. Hate

"It's nothin' personal, really, I just hate Spies." Engineer shrugged, starting up his dispenser. "I saw that mask, and I didn't even look for the colour." He chuckled.

"Vell next time please refrain from throwing zhe wrench..." Spy rubbed the large bump on his head, wincing as the dispenser began to heal him.

"If ya just knock-"

"I did knock." Spy reminded him.

"...alright, if you just didn't have that mask-"

"My mask is essential during missions."

Engineer sighed. It was a never ending argument.

* * *

><p>The RED Engineer doesn't have a name yet, but we know that he loves his machines just as much, hates Spies, and he likes trhowing his wrench at people xD<p>

As you can tell, RED!Engy and Marcel aren't buddies.


	19. Isolation

019. Isolation

Sniper used to spend his days alone, in his dingy little tower, sniping the Builders League United scum that made their way to the base. He never thought about his self isolation, mostly because he didn't want to be caught up in his thoughts and get himself killed. (His record was going on nearly three months with no respawns.)

And then he was transferred to a new base, after gaining a sort of... Ranking promotion. He met the BLU Spy one day as he made the move to stab him in the back, and he realized that being in the little room on his own was actually quite dangerous, and as well as that, it was lonely.

He tried several things to curb the sudden onslaught of lonely emotions he began to deal with, one including a Jarate Jar with a smiley face on it. The two never saw eye to eye... In the end, Sniper tossed him out the window to extinguish a burning Scout.

The Scout didn't speak to him for a week, which only made him further question his tactics.

The second time he met the BLU Spy, he didn't kill him right away. After wresting the small blade away from him, the Sniper tossed it from his window and did nothing else. The disarmed Spy looked at him, confused, before making a dash for the exit. Though he was half expecting the Spy to use his other weapon (a rather deadly Ambassador) against him as soon as he turned, Sniper didn't try to stop him: he just went back to his job.

One day, whilst alone again in his tower, waiting for the war to start, he looked through a pile of mail. There was at least a month's worth of letters and postcards from home (meaning mainly his Worried Mother and Disappointed Father) that had been sent to his previous post, and then relayed back to the new one. As he read them, he thought about his life back in Australia. Most of his friends were technically relatives, or his parents friends, since most of his school life had been spent in the back of the room, silently. This only made the Sniper think more about his lack of friends on the Reliable Excavation Demotion team.

Considering how often they relied on each other in battle, that was a bit startling.

As the Administrator finally counted the start of the battle, he set the cards on the crate next to his spare ammunition.

The Spy visited him once more that day, nearly catching him off guard, while he trailed after an enemy Scout holding the briefcase. The blade went through his arm, after he'd brought it up as a shield. Cursing, the BLU Spy had drawn his handgun, though not in time to avoid the Sniper's tackle. They struggled for the weapon. The Spy had his finger curled around the trigger and the Sniper tried to turn it against him. In the end, the Spy overpowered him, and Sniper woke in respawn fifteen minutes later.

When he returned to the tower after the battle was over at a stalemate, he found a note scrawled in neat hand-writing sitting on his crate. The Spy had spent the time Sniper was respawning to read the now-missing stack of letters and postcards. He also found that the photo he kept in his pocket was gone. The note said it had slipped out of his pocket during their struggle, and the Spy was keeping it (as well as his letters) until they next met, in case Sniper never went back to the tower.

He found that odd. Perhaps the Spy was playing mind games with him?

Sniper waited for the Spy to show up again, though for nearly a week he didn't see him. He began to wonder if he'd see the items again, when the Spy finally found the Sniper. The Spy returned the photo and the letters, then left again immediately after. Sniper tucked them into his bag and went back to work, though his thoughts were on the Spy most of the time.

Once again, the lonely feelings returned, gnawing at his brain like some sort of parasite. He began socializing with his team more, though he didn't find much they could talk about. Demoman was okay to drink with, but he always talked about explosives, often in a slurred Scottish burr he could barely translate, and Sniper couldn't even count all the times he'd launched into his 'Black Scottish Cyclops' story, sobbing and clutching his favourite bottle of Scrumpy like it was a lifeline in the sea of his despair.

The Soldier was convinced the Australian was too much of a 'hippie' for his tastes. He'd made a few attempts, but the most he could get from the American was another set of insults, mostly aimed at his 'cowardly' way of fighting.

The best he could find was the team's Pyro, and though it helped a little, he couldn't understand a word the man said behind his gas mask. If the pyro even was a man. He (she?) never took off the mask, and though his (her?) muffled voice screamed masculine, he'd still seen the frilly pink purse sitting in his weapons locker.

Despite his 'friendship' with the Pyro, he still couldn't stop thinking about the BLU Spy, who was the reason he began to question his self-isolation tactics. One night, as he examined the photo, he began to wonder why the Spy had even bothered to return everything to him. That same night he left a note taped to the window in the tower, asking the same question.

The day went by and he saw no signs of the Spy. After the battle, he reported to the roof for his shift 'guarding' the base, and found a reply taped to the metal folding chair he sat on. The Spy hadn't exactly answered his question, much to his chagrin. Sniper replied to the Spy's message, and left it on the window again, back at the tower.

Back and forth they went, until the Sniper realized their note exchange only made him feel worse. It was the highlight of his day, but it always reminded him of his loneliness. The more time he spent talking with the Spy, a dark, hollow space in him seemed to grow. It acted like a black hole, sucking all his positive emotions to another dimension and leaving nothing but his darker half.

Even more desperate for friends than before, he tried to make nice with his team again. The Engineer wasn't a bad character, and he was definitely less insane than the always drunk Demoman, or the loud-mouthed Soldier, though he was hard to talk to. His prominent Texas Drawl was sometimes hard for the Sniper to keep up with, and nearly everything they talked about ended with something technical that the Sniper couldn't understand.

The Scout was a bit of an enigma to him. Even more so than the RED Spy, whom he could never seem to find. One moment the boy would be laughing and joking with the Demoman, or even the Pyro, and other times he would be moping about the base, adopting a soured expression, as if someone had doused him in vinigar and dumped his favoured 'Bonk! Atomic Punch' down the drain.

The first attempt he made to talk to him, he left with a baseball shaped bruise on his face and a harsh torrent of swears in, surprisingly, French.

He decided against trying again.

The weeks went by and he noticed the Spy hadn't shown up at all since their last actual meeting. Their conversations through notes had gone from a question about a worn, coloured Polaroid and a few letters to asking about himself. His family, his life before joining the war, and he even shared his first name at one point.

Sniper wondered if he should really open up so much to an enemy he'd only met a few times. (The majority of which he'd been trying to kill him, at that.)

The thought that he could use all this against him was a frightening thought, but at the same time Sniper loved having someone to talk to, even if not face to face. This spy knew more about him than the rest of his team did, though he knew almost nothing about the Spy. He seemed more interested in learning about Sniper than telling about himself, but Sniper didn't mind.

Eventually the Spy wrote back asking Sniper why he was so open with his life to an enemy Spy. Sniper paused when he read over it, eventually writing a reply. He thought about it the entire day, wondering what the Spy would say.

To his annoyance, the note was left unread. The Spy sometimes took a day or two when replying. Sniper left, waiting the next day for a reply, which again he didn't receive. On the third night, the note was gone.

He tried to forget it, thinking the Spy was done with him, though it was on his mind all the next day. His kill rate suffered heavily, which the rest of his team noticed. Mostly the Scout, surprisingly, who yelled at him for missing the _enemy_ Scout as he escaped with the Intel.

He tried to forget even harder that night, In order to ease his mind and get back to work. To his surprise, however, the note reappeared on the inside of his van. It sat on his pillow; A good four pages of words, written neatly with looped letters. He read it twice, just to make sure he'd understood everything.

The Spy had asked for Sniper to meet him in an old building behind the RED base. It was signed with a name, rather than the usual 'Spy.' Or rather it was signed by a 'Spy', but that was hurriedly scratched out, to a point the paper nearly ripped, and replaced by a name, written in a sloppier loop.

Against all better judgement, Sniper went to the meeting, and was the first to show. After twenty minutes, a soft click of expensive Italian shoes on dusty pavement reached his ears. Sniper looked towards the door as the Spy slipped inside the damp, freezing room.

They talked for a while, Spy seemingly fine while Sniper shifted awkwardly as they conversed. Eventually the feeling went away, and it was easier to speak with the BLU Spy. They scheduled another meeting, this time in a less musty location, and talked for most of the night.

Soon the Spy began visit him during work hours, leaving the butterfly knife in his pocket, and they would talk as he worked. The feelings the Spy had brought up during their first meeting were gone. Sniper didn't feel as lonely any more, with the Spy's constant visits. The friend he'd so desperately needed had shown up from the oddest of places.

Nearly a year after the first meeting which had woken him to his own feelings, the Spy had become his best friend. He could barely remember what it felt like to not have the Spy around, and… He was glad for that.

* * *

><p>Omg. No dialogue. Whut is this? xD<p>

Hmm. I didn't expect this one to be so long. I was planning a few paragraphs, and nearly and hour later, we have this.

Now I just have to decide how they finally get together~ xD

LE EDIT:

I fixed some stuff and added detail .w. (That was pretty much because of how I didnlt feel liek writing soemthing new in Creative Writing so I turned this in instead xD)


	20. Childhood

020. Childhood

"'Ow about you, mon ami?" Spy asked, breathing in one last puff of smoke before dropping the cigarette in the dust and stamping it with his foot.

"Yes, vee haf all shared one of our memories. It is your turn now." Medic added.

Spiper sighed, clutching his coffee mug. "Not much ta say about my childhood." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps I can find something." He thought for a moment while the others waited, and finally he remembered something. "Alright. When I was just around eight, my dad took me out for my first hunting lesson in the outback." He shifted slightly in his seat. "We were in a clearing of dust and trees, when out of nowhere, a bloody koala leaps for us. He landed right on my own shoulders and sank his teeth in my ear," he felt along the faint scar. But I held the beast off until my dad knocked it away."

"And then what happened?" Scout was on the edge of his seat, all ears.

"Went to get it patched up, but the damn doctor didn't know a thing about medicine and it got infected."

"Vat a disgrace!" Medic fumed. "Who vould hire someone zat kannot do his job?"

Sniper shrugged. "Don't know, mate. I don't really care any more, either." He stretched.

"...so did you kill the koala?" Scout eventually asked.

"Not then, no..." He sipped his coffee. "But he got what was comin' to 'im eventually."

* * *

><p>Hey, I warned you in part 4 my BLU Sniper was weird! xD<p> 


	21. No Way Out

021. No Way Out

"Gnn..." Sniper woke with a quiet groan, head pounding and vision blurry. He blinked a few times, and then realized that he was unable to move. With a panicked gasp he tried to sit up, but the restraints held firm. That didn't stop him from trying, until a gloved hand pressed down lightly on his chest.

"Shtop mofink, herr Sniper." Sniper identified the thick accent, as well as the light blue glove on his chest as that of the Medic. He was relieved for a moment, but then grew annoyed. His eyes narrowed.

"Why am I tied down?"

"Oh, no reason." Medic grinned a large, toothy grin that made Sniper uneasy. "Just so zat you kannot eskape." His eyes grew larger as he realized exactly what was going on. As if to prove him right, the Medic disappeared and in his place was the RED Spy, brandishing non-other than the dreaded butterfly knife.

"Bloody Spy-"

* * *

><p>As if Medic isn't creepy enough on his own, right? xD<p> 


	22. Are you Challenging Me?

022. Are You Challenging Me? (More names~ xD And I switched the numbers so I could post 24, 25, and 31 since they were already written.)

"Is that a challenge?" Lowell grinned back the the scowling RED Scout.

"Yea it's a challenge! I can run circles around you!"

"Then prove it." Lowell took off in a run, ducking through an empty main passage. Justin yelled in frustration and followed, wanting northing more than to catch the other and bash his overly-happy little head in with his bat.

"Get back here!" He sped up, still trailing just behind Lowell, who laughed and only increased his own speed. RED's Scout frowned as he ran, knowing he wouldn't catch up at this rate. So instead of following the other, he took a detour up a staircase and ran along a bridge between two buildings. Lowell was just passing it when Justin leapt, swinging his bat down as he landed on the enemy.

"N-no fair-!" Lowell gasped, having a hard time forcing the words out as his breathing was constricted by the RED Scout.

"I never said I was going to play fair." He sneered, and smashed the end of his bat over Lowell's head, sending him closer to respawn. He was about to finish the job when a small beam of blue light flickered over his eye. He was amazed he caught it, and dove sideways just in time to avoid a Sniper shot.

Eyeing the other unconscious Scout regretfully, and then glaring towards the direction of the shot, he zipped out of the line of fire, unable to finish what he'd started.

* * *

><p>(Fff, I was playing TF2 the other day and was lucky enough to somehow see the sniper dot right before he shot me 8I)<p> 


	23. Starvation

023. Starvation (I named my RED Sniper, finally, by the way... xD)

"Why aren't the supply trains here yet?" Justin groaned, dipping his cup into a barrel of rain water. He shuddered as he drank it, as the water had been sitting for what was probably months, and had soaked in the flavour of the wood.

"They'll show up eventually." Alistair replied sleepily. Justin hadn't even heard the Australian come up behind him, and just barely avoided spilling his grainy cup of water on himself. "S'not like they haven't done this before." He dipped his Number One Sniper mug into the barrel as well, and took a long sip of it, swishing it around before finally swallowing. Just watching made Justin shudder slightly.

"Of course until they do you'll just have to deal with it. You're supposed to be fast, right? Go catch one of those chickens that're livin' 'round here."

Justin made a face. "There ain't no way I'm gonna eat a bird."

"Hmm, that's right, you only eat grass, don't ya?" Sniper yawned again. "There's probably a patch of it out there somewhere, Good luck finding it." Justin flushed with embarrassment.

"I-I don't eat grass! And even if I did it's better than what you murderers do!" Alistair waved him off, chuckling.

"I was joking." He sipped the tepid water in his mug. "But If you change your mind about it, I have a nice pot of boiled snake waiting."

Justin frowned and shoved his hands in his pocket, leaving his cup behind as he walked away from the Sniper, grumbling.

* * *

><p>(Did you know my little RED Scoot is a vegetarian~? xD)<p> 


	24. Dying

024. Dying (Lol...random crossover with L4D? XD The Sacrifice will never be the same...)

"The generator stopped!" Both Lowell and Alois yelled nearly at the same time. Bennett looked down from his post at the highest end of the bridge, cursing. It figures the bridge would be stopped at the last second, right as a trio of tanks made their way down the main road.

"Can we fix it from here?" He heard Lowell yell towards Dell, who was manning the large gun propped on the edge of the bridge by someone before them. He shook his head and yelled back over the noise that it was impossible.

"Then I'll have to fix it... I can run-"

"Don't even think about it!" Bennett yelled, scaling down the side of the bridge and back to the bottom level, just in time to pull the boy away. "You may be fast but you won't make it back!"

"What choice do we have? We need to start it up before they-" He gestured at the three tanks barrelling closer every second, "-reach us. I'm fast, I can make it!"

Bennett shook his head, recalling the strange promise he made years ago, to the RED Spy. He never understood what the promise was about... But he wouldn't go back on a promise to an old friend.

"I'll handle the generator, while you take cover up top." Bennett handed over his rifle, and before Lowell could make his own protests, he leapt from the bridge, brandishing a molotov. As he closed the distance between him and the Tanks, he lit the Molotov now clutched in his hand and lit the rag, throwing it far.

The tank in the middle roared with pain, tripping over itself and causing the others at either side to stumble as well. The Sniper was bought the precious few seconds he needed to run up to the generator and start the machine. He watched briefly as the bridge moved high enough that any wave of oncoming infected wouldn't be able to climb.

The tanks were a different story, of course. They passed by him, blinded by the flames that ravaged their mutated bodies.

"No you don't...!" Forgetting his fear, for the sake of his friends on the rapidly ascending bridge, he brought up his Sub Machine Gun, opening fire on the backs of the infected. The Tank most effected turned with a roar and caught the attention of his companions, who turned as well, forgetting the bridge.

"Come an' catch me, then!" Bennett screamed back at the Tanks. He caught the Scout's eye, waving goodbye, before leading the tanks in another direction. He ducked into the building across the one with the first generator, where he'd seen a large tank of propane earlier.

As the three large tanks fought through the doorway, Bennett reloaded his small weapon and waited. When in frustration, the door frame was punched in, the Sniper opened fire on the metal container. There was a loud explosion, and a bright flash of orange and white, then...

Nothing.

Hours later, the area had cleared out. Any infected left had been picked off by Alois, who owned the quietest gun. He'd sat near the edge of the bridge, beside a dispenser, as he'd worked. Now he was watching the sleeping Scout. The boy nearly went crazy when the building exploded, trying to leap from the bridge and find their lost Sniper.

In a desperate move to stop him, Alois stabbed a sedative into his arm. It was quick acting, and now he safely rested beside the dispencer. He sighed, watching the sun rise slowly. Soon Dell and Lowell would wake up, and they would retreat to the boat... Make an escape to the island so fondly imagined...

A yawn sounded from the Scout. Medic took his mind off his thoughts and examined the Scout.

"Are you feelink better?" he asked. Lowell looked around, then sjhook his head.

"Not really..."

"Vell, I'm sure zat you vill get over it vith time." Lowell didn't answer. He was quiet until the sun was higher and they woke Dell, so they could get moving.

Everything was ready for them to leave. As soon as they were back on the pavement, Scout puklled them both to the last place they'd seen their Sniper run before the explosion. Dell and Alopis protested quietly, looking around nervously.

Lowell wouldn't leave, however, until he was sure their Sniper was gone.

"What if he IS alive, and we just leave him here?" All they found was the mangled corpses of the tanks, and their Sniper's body.

Lowell held back his tears, threatening to fall as his eyes landed on the tattered, blood soaked hat Bennett always wore.

"We need to get movin', boy." Dell landed his hand on the Scout's shoulder. "No tellin' when them infected will come back." Lowell nodded and finally allowed the group to leave. He clutched the hat in his hands as they left for the boat.

* * *

><p>(Alois is the BLU Medic, and... I decided to name my BLU Engie Dell after the comics xD<p>

Hmm. Strange party.

Sniper, Medic, Engie, and Scoot. All BLUs, too xD)

Remember that promise Sniper made to Spy in 'watch?' Yep. he kept it to the very end~ Lulz. Even when Spy is (presumably) dead

Bennett, you're such a good Sni- *run through with Kukri again*

Hmm, while I blled out here;'s a list of teh current names used in this story:

Scout: Lowell

Sniper: Bennett

Engineer: Dell

Medic: Alois

they're all on BLU, don't forget xD


	25. Dream

025. Dream (My attempt at scary...xD)

As far as he knew, Lowell was the only one to dream during the respawn process. For everyone else it was merely a moment of darkness before they were back and ready to fight. No one else had witnessed the horrific images he saw every time he closed his eyes...

The dreams had followed him from the respawn machine to his bedroom. Nearly every night he would wake, heart pounding in his chest and the faint demonic giggles echoing in his ear. He tried his best to shake it off.

After a while, the nightmare seemed to be gone. He thought perhaps it was due to his week long streak of no respawns. Just as he'd made his way to the RED base it finally caught up with him. The lights seemed to dim and flicker around him. With each flicker the RED base seemed to change into a black forest.

By the time he'd reached the sewage pipes, it was all he could see.

Lowell backed up slowly, taking in everything around him until he eventually hit something. He spun around and paled. A tall, hunched over figure loomed over him. He had the face of a Spy, and wore a grungy red suit, torn and stained with who knows what.

He couldn't hold back a screech of terror as the figure reached for him with long, clawed fingers. He stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet and, tried to scrambled away. The monster grinned, showing off a sharp set of teeth. A glowing green sludge oozed from between them, sizzling and cracking as it fell to the ground.

The Scout remembered his scattergun and fumbled with the trigger and his aim, attempting the blast its head off. It dodged insanely fast, almost as if it were a liquid shadow. It slipped behind Lowell and he felt the sharp clawed hands pierce his skin.

Warm breath hit his neck and he screamed again, both from the pain of five dagger-like nails clawing through his skin, and the general presence of the monster. He twisted in its grasp, feeling the claws drag across his back. In the brief second he was free, the Scout attempted to crawl away, until something thick and slippery wrapped around his ankle, pulling him back.

The sudden pull knocked him to the ground. He realized he was in water when his face landed in it, causing him to suck in a mouthful. The monster pushed down on the back of his head, forcing him to breathe in the sludgy brown liquid until he held the little breath he had.

He was about to pass out from lack of oxygen when the pressure disappeared. A loud bang echoed throughout the pipes, followed by a loud roar. Lowell gasped, sucking in the tainted air and coughing up mouthfuls of water. Slowly, very slowly, light filled his vision again and he realized the dream was gone.

Whoever had attacked the monster and saved him pulled the Scout to his feet, alowwing him to lean against them. He couldn't quite make out who it was, through the shadows and alarming blur to his vision. He didn't react when cold metal pressed against his forehead.

Another bang.

An hour after the mission was over, Medic found him curled on a respawn table, shaking and muttering to himself. He nearly had a heart attack when Alois turned on a light and walked in. After he'd calmed down, the Scout clung to the Medic and refused to let go, until Alois stabbed his with a sedative.

* * *

><p>(Why yes, little BLU Scoot hallucinates and gets attacked by evil Tentaspies! *shot* I think Tentaspies like giving nightmares w I wonder who saved him from evil Tentaspy man~? It's a mystery... To you τAτ<p> 


	26. Fog

026. Fog (More crossover with L4D, no~? xD)

"I do not like zhe looks of zhis fog." Claude muttered. He referred mostly to the large blanket of fog wrapped around the building. He could barely see ahead of him.

"Quit your goddamned whining, Frenchie." The Soldier growled, stabbing his index finger to the BLU's chest. "You're lucky I don't just shoot you."

"Get off his case already, Solly." Alistair snapped, glaring.

"Well he is!" He truned hios gaze to the Sniper. "He's a BLU if you forgot."

"Colours don't matter anymore! Just in case ya didn't realize, we're in the middle of a bloody zombie apocalypse!"

"And what's HE going to do? Beat them to death with his white flag? Here's a newsflash for you, your little surrender flag ain't gonna stop them from clawing your eyes out!"

"Hurr wurl furhfing hurlf urss?" Desmond cut in before anyone else could make a remark. "Urt thurs rurt wurr'll nurvur gurt turr thurr murll." He shook his head. "Bursurds, Phy durd ur gurd jurb urn thur hurturl durdnt hur?"

The Soldier grumbled, clenching his fists. He wasn't expecting Desmond to side with the frog too.

Neither was Cluade or Alistar. They both looked at the Pyro, surprise written on their faces.

"Well if he's gonna be on my team then I say he uses that watch of his to scout of the area since the fog is blocking everything."

"Oh come on, you're goin' ta get him killed if ya send him out there alone."

"Wurl urrl gur urt thur surm turm." Desmond added.

"And who put you in charge of this mission?" Soldier narrowed his eyes.

"I think the question is who put YOU in charge, mate?" Alistair added. "If we plan on getting' outta here alive, we can't argue about everything."

"I agree vith Alistair and zhe Pyro. It vould be easier to move as a group in zis fog."

Soldier looked ready to lash out at the Spy again, but looks from both Pyro and Sniper kept him quiet. "Fine. If you ladies are too scared to go alone then we'll go all at once." Without saying anything else, he pried the bar from the door and kicked it open. Soon the group of four was huddled close together, keeping an eye out for any infected they could hear scurrying around in the thick fog.

* * *

><p>(More teams... xD Hmm, BLU Spy, RED Sniper, RED Soldier, and... Gasp, is that a RED Pyro? xD<p>

Darn it Pyro, why is it so hard to write they way you speeaak? *pouts*

Pff. I dunno if Soldier will ever warm up to poor Cluade~ xD I hope so 8'D But it woul doprobably take them until at learts, like... Forever xD maybe the tiem equivalent would be, maybe he stops hateing the Spy complelty around the tiem they'd reach the Bridge on the parish.)


	27. Rain

027. Rain (Whoo, more crossovers! xD)

"Maybe we should just go back ad see if we can find find any gas cans." Justin suggested. He fingered the long scar across the length of his face, and half way down his neck. "Better than runnin' into all them Witches that are in here."

"Zhe boat runs on diesel, remember?" Marcel reminded him, taking note of how the Scout shook. He was still shaken up from their run in with a Witch a few days earlier. Nikolaus had healed him with the medigun, but it wasn't enough to stop the scars forming across his face and neck.

"Well then find another gas station! I can hear them from in here." He shuddered, holding his arms tight around himself.

"Vee should vake zee ozhers." Marcel slid off the box. The sky was beginning to grey, and tehboat wasn't going to wait forever.

"Oh great, it's raining, too!" Justin threw his hands up with exasperation as Marcel woke the Medic and Heavy.

"It is only rain, Häschen." Nikolaus stiffled a yawn as he peered out the door.

"Doktor is right." Dimitri stated. "Only babies fear rain." Justin scowled.

"I never said I was afraid of it! It'll just make it harder to bash in zombie heads."

"ze korekt term is Infekted." Nikolaus reminded him. The Scout sighed and gripped his bat. The group moved out a few minutes later, the freezing rain waking them all from their tiredness. Every so often a Witche's wailing reached their ears. Justin made suyre to ollow behind the Heavy, who entered each room with no fear in his eyes.

* * *

><p>(this team is RED Spy, Scout, Medic, and BLU Heavy, who doesn't have a name yet. He's rather attacteched to his new medic friend~ xD<p>

RED Scoot is afraid of running into another witch, since he was mauled by one in what would be the area, if they passed it, Dark Carnival.

Häschen means little bunny, and bunnies are fast, and Scoots are fast, so you know~ xD)


	28. Bound

028. Bound

"Move carfully maggots." Soldier said, breaking the relative silence between the group. "I can smell one of those smoking hippies." He paused. "Unless that would be you back there, crouton." The Spy sighed and kept his eyes out for the supposed Smoker.

"Lurts nurt sturt furts ourt hur Surgurr." Desmond reminded him.

"I wasn't starting any fights, right Frog?" Claude didn't reply, already learning it would be better to just ignore the soldier.

"We shouldn't be talkin' so much outta the safe room any ways." Alistair added, slowing back to walk next to the Spy. There was silence for a while longer. The only thing they could hear were the distant echoing howls of infected, and every now and again a good bout of coughing.

"I think that thing is followin' us." Alistair sighed just as they'd finished searching a bathroom for anything of good use. No sooner had he spoken then a sharp clang could be heard above them. A ventilation shaft ran the length of the hall.

"Kurrp urr rrs urpurned wurrl wur churk thurs burthrum."

"No hippie is going to make the best of me." Soldier replied to the Pyro's warning as he and the Sniper went into the other bathroom. He paced back and fourth and mumbled.

"Soldier, vatch vhere you are going!" Claude called out as he caught sight of a long grey tongue hover around an opening above, ready to wrap around the soldier. He brought up the Ambassador in his hands as he called out, shooting the tongue. A hiss of protest rang out and next thing he knew he was wrapped tight in a slimy grip.

He couldn't even make a sound as the infected smoker pulled him up. He tried to bite through the part covering his mouth. A thick layer of slime coated the tongue. It tasted bitter against his own, and he realized biting was bad when the Smoker let out an enrage yell, and a watery blood gushed from the wound and into his mouth.

The fluid was bitter and caused his mouth to burn. He thrashed even harder as it trickled down his throat, eyes watering at the sting. He gasped when a shotgun pellet brushed his leg. The bullets startled the smoker, who began to reel him in faster.

"You idiot! You'll hit him!" Alistair snarled, yanking the shotgun from the Soldier's hands as he and the Pyro emerged from their search. He reached for a large crate off the side of the wall and dragged it over. Desmond caught on to his plan and helped him move it. The soldier watched for a second, then too helped.

Wordlessly Alistair climbed the tall crate and made a leap for the shaft, gripping the edges and pulling himself in. He couldn't see well in the darkness, but made out faint outlines.

Pulling the sharp Kukri from its sheathe, he rushed through the too-short vent and made quick for of the smoker, cutting through the tongue and slamming the blade through its neck in one blow. A huge puff of smoke burst from the body, filling both their lungs with the acrid green poison.

"Hang on a sec, lemme cut ya loose..." He pulled his blade out of the Smoker's corpse and cut the tongue off in segments, eyes watering as the smoke burned them. As soon as he was free, Alistair pulled Claude towards the exit.

When the two tumbled out of the ventilation shaft they coughed hoarsely, wiping their eyes to clear the burn.

"Arr urr urrurt?" Desmond questioned, sliding the medkit off his back in case someone needed aid.

"Zhat- Zhat zhing is disgusting!" Claude hissed. "Merde, I need to rinse my mouth..." the soldier sighed, and tossed the Spy a bottle of water.

"You're too much trouble." Alistair shot him a look while the Spy rinsed his mouth.

"Don't expect us to help you next time YOU get caught, then." He said.

Claude spat out a mouthful after swishing it around, alarmed to find blood. He ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth. It felt rough.

"Don't bite zee tongue... I zhink it 'as some sort of acid in it." He rinsed again, spitting out more blood. His throat felt raw too, and he recalled how the fluid had slid down it.

"Yur durdrnt swurrlur arnur rurt?"

"...I zhink I might 'ave."

"You really are too much trouble." Soldier rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Damn frenchies, always getting themselves killed. I didn't think you'd survive out here long without respawn and the Medic to-"

"Vould you shut up?" Claude growled, still spitting blood. "I 'aven't died. Zhis is zhee first incident I've 'ad since we found ourselves vorking on zee same team, vhich frankly, I could 'ave avoided if you vould pay attention!"

"Gurrs, sturp furting."

The two glared at each other. They looked ready to start again, but luckily they were interrupted by the howl of a hunter.

"Oh great, now a hunter is following us." Alistair eyes the ventilation shaft, still spewing green smoke. "I say we go before it catches up to to us."

* * *

><p>(Whut? I think it sounds cool. Now I can justify making Clause sick later~ *shot*<p>

Darn it Ally, why don't you SPEAK? *headdesk* And Desmond 8I I can't think of what he does xD

Also I dun like it as much as I though I would xD Next chapter is a followup w; )

so you know~ xD)


	29. Pain

029. Pain

"I don't think we're getting any farther." Alistair sighed. Currently the group sat in a car they'd taken from the mall's Atrium. In front of them? At least a mile of parked cars.

"Vhat should vee do now?" Claude asked.

"I guess we'll walk."

"A little walking should do you good crouton." Soldier said, stretching his arms over his head. "You're paler than a... Salad dressing."

"...salad dressing?"

"Yea, that stuff." Claude directed his eyes towards the side mirror. He did look a bit pale. He hadn't noticed it.

"Maybe."

"Hurr gurrs, lurrk! Wurspururn Urks!" Desmond pointed towards a sign for an amusement park. "Murbur wur curn furnd ur wur thrur thur?"

"I dunno mate, might be full of these things." Alistair replied. He peered through his rifle scope, taking out a few stragglers.

"Burt thurs nur urthur wur tur gur sur fur..." Desmond crossed his arms.

"I say we go to the place." Soldier said. "Look at this flyer here." he held up a green paper giving directions for an evac center.

"What do ya think?" alistair said. "Yes or no, amusement oark, or find somewhere else?"

"I say we find this evac station and get out of this place. Sooner we're away from these zombies the sooner we can be back at the base, showing those cowardly BLUs who's the boss." Soldier grinned to himself, rubbing his hands together.

"Ur'll gurr wurth surgur urn thurs wurn." Desmond added.

"And you Claude?"

"I... Zhink vee should try eet." He rubbed his eyes. Alistair frowned, noticing how his body shook slightly. Maybe it would be best to try for the evac station. If they weren't over run, then perhaps a medic could look over the Spy.

"Right, I guess we're heading for the park. Let's get movin'."

The group armed themselves again and set forth. Alistair made sure to walk behind Claude, just to keep an eye on him.

They walked quickly, dispatching any commons they saw. By the time they reached a motel, nothing much had happened. While fighting, Claude seemed to feel better. Perhaps it was just in his imagination, earlier.

"Gurrs, ur hurr ur turnk." Desmond stopped short. Soldier ran into him, causing both to stumble. Desmond reached out to catch his balance on the wall. Vibrations seems to be emitting from the other side.

"Anozher one?" There had been two in the mall's Atrium. The first had taken them nearly a full three minutes to take down. The second, Claude had managed to get onto its back and stabbed it with the Sniper's knife. (His had been too short to make it through the mutated flesh and sever the spine.)

"Say crouton, you think you can do that fancy trick like you did before? I'm running low on rockets here." the soldier whispered in a growl. Claude shot a weak glance at the nickname, but nodded.

"If I can borrow zhat knife again, mon ami."

Alistair reluctantly handed over the blade. He didn't think the Spy would be able to reproduce the same effect as last time. He was visibly shaking again, and he caught a tremble in his voice.

"You sure, mate?" Alistair hoped he'd change his mind. He had a bad feeling.

"Oui, oui, I am sure."

Before Alistair could say anything else the Spy was cloaked. A door farther down creaked open, and Claude was inside, creeping around and searching for a tank.

"You and that Spy are mighty friendly, don't you think?" Soldier suddenly faced the Sniper. "Is there something on with you two?"

Alistair stared. "Nothing I think you're privileged to know about at the moment. He's a good friend, and if you'd stop hating him for his uniform, perhaps you might see that."

"You talk as if you've known him for a while. We've only been out here a few days." Soldier narrowed his eyes. "If there's something you aren't telling me-"

A loud yell cut the man off. Alistair's heart leapt to his throat. For a moment he wasn't sure who it was. His Spy, or the tank. The yell came again, along with a crash. It was the tank, the tank was yelling. Another yell, from the Spy, and a brutal series of crashes made him wince.

It was like the time in the mall. Its arms were unable to reach up and drag the Spy off.

Not too long after, the noises died down. Alistair and the other two aproached the door, shining their lights. The tank burst out the door, yelling lopuder. It reacjhed for them, managing only to weakly knock over the Soldier, before landing hard, panting wildly before finally dieing. Teh Spy was nowhere to be seen.

"Claude, where'd ya go?" Alistair called quietly. Perhaps he'd been injured? What if he'd been smashed into the wall as the tank tried to escape him? What if-

"R-righht here." Alistair sighed with relife. A very winded, wide-eyed BLU Spy gripped the door frame, trembling as he eyed the fallen figure.

"Mon dieu, it screamed in my ear." He rubbed his right eye. "My apologies for zhe noise eet made."

"Hmm." Soldier grunted. He poked at the fallen tank with his shovel. "Well we can move on now." He eyed the Spy. "Not bad. I'm checking out these rooms for something we can use." He marched inside, dragging the pyro along.

Alistair and Claude were left alone to guard the door.

"There's a crate here." Alistair pointed out. It sat near the door. "Take a rest mate, your knees are like jelly."

The Spy nodded, shakily approaching the crate and taking a seat. The Sniper sat next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Didn't get hurt, did ya?" Claude shook his head.

"Nozzing I cannot 'andle, mon morelle. Just a few scratches where zhe beast tried to crush me against a vall."

Alistair winced. One of the very things he'd imagined to befall his Spy. At least he... was... fine...?

He noticed something wet seem to press against his leg. He looked down, seeing the blue pants Claude wore soaked in a dark red liquid. The stain travelled up the Spy's side, splashing on his back and chest Was it from the tank? He looked past the Spy leaning against him and examined the knife wound in the monster's back, where his kukri still stood out, unclaimed.

There was a copious amount of blood still dripping from the wound.

"The tank bled a lot, didn't it?" He mumbled quietly. "You're soaked in its blood." Claude stiffened slightly, relaxed, and nodded.

"My suit is ruined, isn't it?" He said with a slight tone of amusement. Sniper smirked.

"I'd say it was ruined long before we met the tank." Claude wrinkled his nose.

"When zis is over, I'm buying a new one. I don't zhink all zhe respawns in zhe vorld could repair zhis damage."

A light crash alerted the pair. It came from inside, and shortly following was the soldier's cure.

"Watch it Pyro, you break that thing and we'll have a horde on us before you say maggot."

The Sniper took it as his cue to pull away from the Spy, though he did so reluctantly, their alone time was even harder to come by than it was back at the base.

"Need a hand with that, Solly?" Alistair reached for several items the man was about to drop as he walked out the door. Several bottles of pills, most nearly empty. Another medkit, and a defibrillator.

He counted out six bottles of pills from the Soldier, and the pyro emerged with another three. One was unopened; the rest were either nearly empty, with a few strangers left inside, and one was a little over half full.

The Sniper quickly went about sorting them and filling each with an even number of pills.

"Were did ya find all these pills at?"

"A suitcase full of them. Had money and guns in them too. Probably either someone trying to survive, or a criminal hanging out before the outbreak. The rest of the pills we found in other rooms."

Alistair nodded.

"Does anyone need these while I'm dividing them?" No one replied. "Alright then."

It didn't take long, there was enough, if he opened the full bottle, to take four bottles up to half full. Items were then distributed. The Sniper immediately reached for the Bile jar. He watched the green liquid inside swirl, grinning.

Claude slipped two of the side arms found in the briefcase into his belt, one sitting next to the Ambassador He was running low on ammunition, and sicne he wasn't trained to fire anything else, the pistols would have to do.

Soldier strapped the three pipe bombs to the grenade slots on his uniform. That was all he'd need.

Pyro, sadly, had not found a molotov, like he'd hoped, and instead, took hold of his axe, taping up the handle where it had begun to split. He saved a few glass jars, however, and kept them in his empty medkit bag, so create more when he found another gas can.

"Are we ready to get out of this motel?" Alistair asked as he ripped the Kukri from the dead tank's back.

A chorus of agreements answered. The four set out again, aiming for the park.

* * *

><p>(Mon Morelle is My Nightshade in french~<p>

I think it's nice. And nighshade is pretty.

I looked it up, and it means trust xD

the NEXT one follows this one, and the 'pain' theme is when Claude owns the tank.

I have plans for this~ It'll be epic! And we get some tunnel of love action *wink wink, shot*


	30. Death

030. Death

"Turn it off!" Alistair yelled over the sound of raging infected and the bright carousal music. He reached for the jar of bile strapped to his belt and tossed it, hearing it break and pressed his back to the chainlink fence as the infected ran past him. Ahead of him the Pyro ran for the off switch, hacking at anything in his way with his axe. Claude covered him, stabbing randoms that made it behind the man dressed in red, and shooting others when there were too many.

Soldier was pressed against the gate with the Sniper, waiting for a chance to run and use the grenade launcher he'd picked up near the fun slide. The pair barrelled through the remaining infected between them and ran, the sniper following Claude and Desmond while the Soldier loaded a grenade. Just as the bile seemed to wear off, he let a grenade fly, blasting the entire group.

After what seemed like hours, the music finally shut down, and the carousal slowed to a halt. The infected stopped pouring from every nook and cranny, and the stragglers were easily picked off. As soon as they closed the safehouse door, they all collapsed onto the spiky red carpet, panting heavily.

"Maybe this wasn't our greatest idea so far." Sniper shook his head. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Urm gurd hur."

"I zhink I may 'ave sprained somzhing." Claude sighed, cradling his supposedly wounded wrist. It was, luckliy, his right hand.

"Looks like Crouton is the only one hurt again." Soldier grinned, wincing as he regained his feet. He was still suffering from a slight head injury he earned by standing a bit too close to the blast radious and the large bruises on his body.

Alistair didn't even both glaring at him. Instead and scooted closer to the Spy, who'd taken residence in the corner, and examined his wrist. It certainly looked swollen. That wasn't the only injury he'd suffered.

Another tank had left them completely unaware before attacking near the fun slide. They'd all taken a bit of damage, until the Soldier had found the grenade launched they were sure they were doomed.

After that they'd all taken refuge inside of a bathroom, barring the door with a thick metal pipe and a trash can for a break.

The Soldier had a huge bruise on his chest and part of his arms. He'd taken a punch directly from the beast.

"It's no worse than a punch from Heavy." He'd hissed as Desmond checked for broken ribs.

The Pyro himself had been luckier than Soldier, only being knocked to the side and into a wall. His helmet protected hi, from most of the damage.

Alistair, like Desmond, was knocked to the side, thrown into Claude. Being heavier than the Spy, he did an effective job of crushing him until he'd rolled off. At that point he'd aggravated some of their previous wounds, and they were unable to gain their footing in time to avoid the tank as it chased after their fallen forms.

Shooting at it desperately, the monster was just closing in before the Soldier recovered and found the grenade launcher, saving both their lives.

He wasn't even counting the earlier wounds. As they travelled further in the amusement park, more of the strange special infected had shown up. The Spy had fallen prey to one they'd decided to call a charger, a jockey, and nearly another Smoker.

Alistair himself had his vest shredded by a hunter, as well as a few light scratches. He's been burned by Spitter Acid, and lassoed by the Smoker who'd nearly pulled in Claude.

Pyro, the lucky bastard, split the head of a hunter mid-air and silenced a charger mid-charge.

Soldier himself had gone head to head with a witch, taking her out with his shotgun easily.

Still, after all the pain they'd suffered, Claude was the worst off. He was always the weakest of the group, due of course to his job being of the stealth variety. He'd never needed to build up his muscles to take on the job, like Soldier.

He didn't seem to have the Pyro's luck, and he certainly wasn't as stealthy around the zombies anymore. Despite his cloak and dagger, they always seemed to know he was there.

Besides just the visible injuries, he was still worried about his health in general. He was extremely pale, and even under the balaclava, still worn over his head, he could tell the man had a fever. He still shook heavily whenever they rested, and his voice seemed to break every now and again.

Alistair thought back to the moment in the mall. After the first encounter with a Smoker, and how he'd swallowed the blood from biting its tongue.

"Are you feelin' alright mate? You look sick." Claude nodded weakly. Alistair frowned as he finished bandaging the wrist.

"Don't lie to me, you look worse than some of those infected out there." Claude didn't look him in the eye.

"Who said I vas... Lying?" He asked in a hushed voice. "Perh'aps I am just tired from our long trek through zhe park." Alistair herd the doubt in his voice. For a Spy, he wasn't so great at lying.

"Ya know, if ya aren't feeling well we can rest for a bit longer. I'm sure Desmond can fix something up to at least bring down that fever you have." He looked over towards the Pyro, on the other side of the saferoom with Soldier, tending the man's wounds.

"..." Claude let out a laboured sigh, and grabbed onto the Sniper's hand. "I zhink I need to confess somezhing." This time, he did look into Alistair's eyes.

"Remeber, vhen zhe smoker attacked us in zhe mall? And I had zhe unpleasent misfortune of ingesting zhe acidic blood?" He nodded. He'd just been thinking about it. "Vell, after zhat, I've been feeling... Really bad. I vas hoping it vas just a side effect, but now I am starting to zhink per'aps it is somezing a bit... Vorse."

Alistair caught on immediately. "Don't even think like that!" He growled. "It's just a flu, I bet. You can't seriously think..."

"Who knows 'ow long it takes to be effected by zhis? You've seen zhe messages."

"Yea, and someone saw it in five minutes. If ya had the infection, you'd be gone by now."

"Someone also saw eet 'appen in a few days."

"What are you ladies talking about over there?" Soldier called from the other side of the room.

"Nothin' really. Just commentin' on the weather." Alistair lied with a truly bored tone to his voice. "I predict a forecast of strong infected winds, and spitter rain."

Soldier narrowed his eyes. "Well its nothing important, get over here and look at this map. It'll be our ticket out of this tunnel."

After checking out the map, Alistair peered out the door. It was dark, but a light purple lamp illuminated the silhouettes of several zombies. He set to work with his rifle, sniping anything that came to view.

As soon as the way was clear, they began their journy. Alistair stuck by his Spy, stubbornly believeing he would be fine. They made a detour through the maintenance room, when suddenly, the suit-clad man tripped over his feet.

He clutched his stomach, gasping desperatly for a fresh breath of air.

"Guys, wait!" Alistair called, stopping the unaware Pyro and Soldier. He knelt next to the Spy, examining him closely. His already paled skin was a sickly paste white, and he could just about make out a slight greenish hue.

"What's up with him?" Soldier asked, uncertainty lacing his confused voice.

Alistair ignored him for the most part, telling him to keep an eye on the staircase and reaching for a cloth wadded in his pocket. Making sure to block the view, else he was sure the Spy would chew him out later, he ripped off the balaclava and examined his face, now unhindered by the mask. Wiping at the gasping man's forehead, he was alarmed to find traces of green wipe off onto the cloth.

He looked even worse without the mask, most definitely. His eyes, it seemed, had also changed from the last time he'd looked at them in the safe room. They were bloodshot, and rather than white, the sclera was a dull red. His once blue eyes were taking on a gold tint.

'No, no no no, it's just a normal flu, he's had it for days!' He felt panic stab at his insides. Claude's eyes were unfocused, and he didn't seem to see Alistair in front of him any more.

"Claude, you still with me?" He whispered thickly. It took a while for him to answer, but he nodded slowly.

"I.. St-stil 'ear you, m-mon morelle." He swallowed. "I can't se-see you."

"Wurts wrung wurth hurm?" Desmond stepped closer. Alistiar whipped his head around and glared.

"Don't come any closer. I'll deal with it." The Pyro stepped back again, watching his.

Soldier finally caught on. "Does that mean he's..." He looked towards Desmond. The Pyro nodded after a moment. He looked back towards Alistair, and what part of the Spy he wasn't blocking from view.

"Lurts wurt ourt hur." Pyro tugged on the Soldier's arm, pulling him up the staircase.

Alistair turned his gaze on the Spy once more.

"Why didn't ya tell me sooner? I wouldn't of believed ya, but I would have at least... been prepared for something like this." He ran his fingers over his forehead. "I thought we were... I thought you were immune to it."

Spy shook his head weakly, trying blindly to locate the Sniper. He slid his arms around his neck loosely, eyes stinging.

He coughed violently, startling the Sniper.

"Y-you wo-won't let me... turn into, into one of them, w-will you?" He pleaded the Sniper with his blinded eyes.

"I don't... I can't just, just kill you." he choked. "But I don't want to see you turn into one of them, either."

What happened? Not but two weeks ago, they were perfectly fine, meeting up after hours at the base. When had this all gone to hell, again? One of the supply trains, crawling with infected workers, that's when, if remembered correctly.

And now here they were and an amusement park, fighting zombies and...

He coughed even harder this time, spitting out a thick, bloody substance.

Alistair hugged the Spy closer, careful of his injuries, and held back a sob as the violent coughing continued.

"A-Alistair." Claude clutched his shirt. "P-ple..ease j-just do it, a-and find zhat evac center."

"I..." the Sniper cursed loudly, reaching for one of the pistols the Spy had dropped. "Fine, I can't stand to see you like this any w-way." He swallowed thickly, holding the pistol with shaking hands. His finger trembled over the trigger.

"W-when ever I die after this, you better be waiting for me."

"Je promets, Mon Morelle." The Spy smiled weakly.

"S-see you when I get there, then." Before he could hesitate any further, he pulled the trigger. A spray of blood covered the wall. The gun skidded across the floor where he flung it, as if the cool metal burned his hands. A few stray tears spilled over his eyes as he ran his fingers through the Spy's matted hair one last time, his tears falling faster and faster each second.

He hadn't heard the Soldier and Desmond enter the small room again. He jumped when a hand clamped on his shoulder. The Soldier looked away from the Spy's body, though he wouldn't have seen much, as his face was hidden.

He didn't say anything, but the Sniper knew he wanted to get moving.

"Gimme a sec, I can't just let him lay here." He reached for the discarded balaclava, sliding it back over his head. Even in a zombie apocalypse, he'd worked hard to hide his appearance. It was only proper to leave him with the scrap of clothing.

"Wur curnt burrur hurm burt wu curn murk surr nur runn furnd hurs burdur." Desmond spoke up. He fingered a freshly made molotov on his belt. A cremation, then?

Alistair nodded. The Spy wasn't a fan of fire, but it was better than leaving his body out in the open for anything to stumble on.

"So, I take it you were more than just friends." Soldier eyed the body as Desmond prepared to burn it.

Sniper looked away. "You could say that... Yeah. He was definitely something more than a friend."

* * *

><p>(There is ALWAYS a Tank near the fun slide~! Always. When I'm on expert and we're dying I just know we're screwed when I climb that ladder. It's like, "Okay guys, we're all B&amp;W, and all we have are these pills. 8Holds up pills* There's going to be a tank over there, so we're fucked anyway." And then there ISN'T a tank, and I'm all "We might actually make it to the healthkits! 8'D" And then I climb the stairs, turn into the room... IT'S WAITING IN TEH CORNER D8<p>

And by the way, when I promised some 'Tunnel of Love action, I hope you didn't think I meant something romantic. I meant death *fwee*  
>*sadface*<p>

I didn't cry, but my throat feels all thick and I want to ;A;

huggles Spy* Why did I have to kill you? I'm so sorry Dx Forgive me ;A; I-i-I miss him already 8c

I can only imagine how Sniper feels. I'm sorry Ally, I didn't want to, it just happened! I'm such a terrible person, I, I hate myself so much now *sobs*


	31. Afterlife

031. Afterlife

When Claude opened his eyes, he was alone. He expected to feel pain of some form, but he sat up and felt nothing. He felt much better than he had in years. His back didn't ache any more, his wrist seemed perfectly flexible once more, and he no longer felt sick.

"I guess zhat means I really am dead." He muttered.

He looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was at the resupply room of the BLU fort? Maybe he wasn't dead. He jumped up, but soon dismissed his hopefulness when he realized his hand had passed right through the table.

"Definitely dead." He tried to picture the last moments of his life. He was with Alistair, the RED Pyro, and the RED Soldier, and then he collapsed, and suddenly his vision failed on him. For some reason he couldn't recall his last words, but he could remember the Sniper had spoken to him.

He concentrated on their conversation, but he could barely recall what HE'D said himself..

"Whatever you're trying to remember'll come back."

Claude jumped, head snapping to the side to catch who'd spoken so suddenly.

"So I see you didn't make it too far, huh?" Bennett glided across the room, literally, as his feet didn't seem to touch the ground.

"Mon ami..." Claude sighed, partially relieved it was a friend, and partially sad for the same reason.

"So how'd ya kick the bucket?" Bennett asked as he sat on the table Claude had woken on. "Me, I'm not sure if it was the tanks or the explosion yet. I think it was the explosion. Still working on my own memory."

His raised his eyebrow, sceptical. Tanks, plural?

"Vhat vere you getting up to?"

"We were down in Rayford. Trying to climb a bridge and wait for the zombies to leave so we could escape with a boat. The generator stopped of course right as three tanks were coming after us, and it was either myself or Scout." He blinked. "I was with our Medic and the Engineer, too. Right now they're all safe, trying to find a nice island to stay on until this blows over."

"I see." It was nice to know his former team mates were okay.

"And you?"

"I vas with Alistair. Remember, zhe RED Sniper?" Bennett nodded. Claude continued. "I vas also vith zhe RED Pyro and Soldier. Vee met up on top of a burning 'otel, just missing an evacuation. Vee vent from zhere, passing through Rayford I believe, now I zhink about eet, and ended up at an amusement park, vhere vee vere looking for anozher station." He swallowed.

"Zhe four of us made it to zhe tunnel of love, and ve took a detour through zhe maintenance room..." He stopped.

"So how'd it happen?"

"I vasn't immune to zhe flu. I caught eet zhe first day, in zhe mall. A smoker..."

"Oh." Bennett looked away. "I'm sorry'ta hear that. I guess not all of can avoid it."

"At least I didn't become one of zhem." He sighed, glad that Alistair had ended him rather than let him... Yeah.

"I vonder if zhey managed to reach zhe evacuation centre?" He thought aloud. He wasn't much help, at the time. Really he was more of a burden, if he thought about it, with the way he'd begun to move so slow.

And he wasn't really much of a fighter, normally the others took care of that, with him protecting their backs. They were sure to have made it.

He slid to the floor, covering his eyes with his hands.

"Vhat a mess. Vhat am I going to do now?"

"Well, I'm not so sure on that. You're the only one I've seen. I guess th' RED Base is right over there, if ours is here." he pointed in the direction of the base, though from inside they couldn't see it.

"Maybe someone from their side has passed too." He hoped his Sniper wasn't there. He'd be happy to see him, of course, but he didn't want him dead. "Vould vee even be able to enter zheir resupply room?"

"I don't see why not, I mean it's like any other room in'it?"

"I suppose." He paused. "Vould you mind exploring vith me? It vould be nice to see more of zhe base vithout zhem shooting at us." He wanted to find the Sniper's room. Perhaps there was something in there.

"I haven't actually been out of our base. I think it'll be good exorcise for a couple of dead mercenaries." Bennett stretched his arms over his head. The pair of them made their way through the abandoned base. Claude jumped every time he passed through an object, not used to the feeling.

Exiting the building showed an old map they hadn't seen in a while. Despite their ghostly appearance, Coldfront was just as cold as when they were living. Wasting no time crossing over the empty battlefield, they were glad for the warmth of the building.

"I wouldn't think being in this form snow would still be as annoyin'." Claude agreed silently. Snow was apparently one thing that would stick to them while everything else passed through.

It wasn't long before they reached the respawn room. Both heard a quiet shuffling inside.

"You hearin' that mate?" Bennett whispered, inching closer to the door.

"Oui. Seems like ve might not be zhe only ones 'ere after all." the pair stood on either side of the door, unsure if they should open it or knock. That problem was solved for them, as with a loud yell, the door flew open and a man in RED tackled them both to the ground.

"Even dead little BLUs pester me!" He growled, glaring. "What do you want?"

Claude's head swam for a moment, and he was completely surprised by what had just happened. And the fact the Heavy didn't pass through them. Then again he was just as dead as they, so maybe it didn't apply.

"Well? What do tiny BLU men want?"

"Now don't go killin' us again, right mate? We were just wonderin' if anyone else had the misfortune of perishin' lately." the Heavy blinked.

"perish?" He seemed to run the word through his mind, trying to recall his vocabulary. It was well know neither team's heavy was able to grasp more complex English than what they'd learned to geth them through training.

"You know, dyein'." bennett offered. "Should be the only reason we're all here right?"

After a while the Heavy sighed and released the BLUs, eyeing them cautiously. "So we are all dead." It was more a statement than a question. "How did little BLUs die?"

"Eizher tanks and explosions for zhe Sniper, we aren't sure vich, and infection for me. Your Sniper ended eet." Claude answered for both of them. "And you?"

"...zombie men. Big puffy one blew up and covered us with something near trains. It was medic and I, and we were close to getting out, but I stayed behind to cover my friend. He is older than the rest of us, he would not make it far blinded with them chasing us."

"Sorry ta hear that." Bennett nodded thoughtfully. "I hope your Medic is doin' okay."

"He is well. I have seen him. He is making friends with your Heavy." the Heavy said. "Did you not know you could visit them?"

"Non! But zhere is a vay?" Claude jumped up, eyeing the Italian heavy hopefully.

"Si, si, it is easy. I visit Medic all the time, but he cannot see me."

"'Ow do you do eet?"

"Is simple. Just think of yourself being there. You will be there. Is the best way I can describe it. I can show you how if you want."

"We apriciate that." Bennett said. "Both our teams are still out there, but we donlt know if they're okay or not. This really helps."

"Is no problem." Heavy replied. "Even if you are BLU I think we should be friends for now. I am glad to help."

* * *

><p>(OHGODIHATETHEENDING and yes RED Heavy didnlt even get a story to die in xD Sorry buddy 83<p>

he;s italian, and has no name yet, BTW xD

ALSO. Sorry took so long to update. I've been procrastinating.)


	32. Stain

032. Stain

Justin clutched the red application paper tightly as he walked up the three-step staircase. He fished around his pocket for his key, nearly dropping it when he noticed the door was slightly open.

The didn't come back, did they? Shoving the paper in his pocket, the boy slowly opened the door, making note of the broken vase and the upturned table blocking the small hallway. Pushing the door all the way open, he easily stepped over the cracked wood. One leg had split right off, he noticed, and he curled his fingers tightly around the thin wood, wielding it like a bat. He winced every time the floor below creaked.

He stopped as he reached the end of the slim hallway, perhaps he would catch any movement before rushing in.

That plan went to hell as soon as he noticed an odd red smear on the ragged carpet to the left, which was the staircase to the upstairs section the small apartment. Almost immediately after a loud shriek echoed down the hall.

"Mère!" He yelled, rushing up the stairs. The red smears, though thin and hardly noticeable, led upwards, and a bloody half-print covered her doorknob. He crashed through the doorway, tripping over a pillow thrown near the entrance.

She was on her knees, giggling and sobbing at the same time. He body shook with the laughter and he noticed her swaying back and forth as she held her arms tight against her chest.

"Mère?" He approached cautiously. Kneeling to her level, he found her gaze unfocussed. The blood seemed to be from her nose. It streamed down her face in thick red lines, staining her lips and dripping onto the carpet. A bright red bruise covered the majority of her face.

"Justin, you came home." She finally said. She leaned her body forward slightly before lunging towards him, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

"I thought you left me!" She sobbed harder, her tears and blood soaking his dark shirt. By now, Justin already knew she was having another strange moment of... Insanity? He wasn't sure. The word scared him. He didn't want to think of her as insane.

"What happened?" He asked softly, hoping to prompt an answer from the woman clinging and sobbing on him.

"You're such a good boy..." She wailed. "I don't deserve to be your mother... He doesn't deserve the right...!" Her grip tightened. "He," she snarled, "He doesn't deserve anyone. Justin, remember what I said. Don't trust him."

"Weh, I know, you've told me before Mère." Justin replied calmly while pushing her loose hair from her face. He was startled when her expression suddenly conveyed harsh anger.

"Don't strike such a tone with me!" The words slithered from her tongue, entreated with the sharpest of acids. "You're too much like HIM! What have I told you?" His mother dissolved into tears again, clutching his shirt. "Why did he do this to us? It's his fault! It's his fault I had to..."

"What do you mean? Had to what?" Guilt flashed across her face.

"I-I didn't mean to do it, I swear I didn't! He was going to hurt us, don't you understand?"

It was then Justin noticed the stench. How had he missed it before? It was thick in the air, like copper and iron. He sprung to his feet, startling her. With another sob, she buried her head in her knees.

Justin followed the smell, out into the hall and into the bathroom.

What he saw made his stomach lurch. They had come back; The same men, or at least one of them, who'd taken it upon themselves to relieve Justin's apartment of anything valuable a week back. A thick pool of blood congealed around a blunt wound on his skull. Lying not far away from his was his metal baseball bat, now dented.

"Merde... Mère, what have you done..." He backed out of the room, insides churning.

"He was going to hurt us!" She insisted again. "I wasn't going to let him..."

"It's okay Merè, it's okay, I understand." Justin swallowed a lump forming in his throat. "I'll take care of it, I'll..." He would what? What was he going to do? Call the police? They would see how cracked his mother was for sure, and then she'd be taken to some mental asylum out in the country and tested on like a lab rat.

He remembered the RED application form.

The man who'd given it to him said they would be willing to take care of anything he needed if he would sign up.

"C'mon, let's go downstairs. I'll make you a nice cup of tea, and see if I can get someone to clean up the mess." His mother nodded silently. He led her down the stairs with his arm around her waist as support and sat her down on a wooden kitchen chair,. He found the form, looking for the number. As soon as the tea was done, he went to the phone in the other room and dialed.

"Reliable Excavation Demolitions. How may we help you?"

Justin swallowed.

"I'd like to fill in an applications form I received earlier today."

"Ah yes." justin recognized the voice. "Justin, if I do recall. I see you;ve reconsidered?"

"...yeah. I just... you said you'd be willin' to help me out if I needed anything. Mon Merè... I can't let her stay alone."

"We know all about your mother, Justin. We know what she;s done. We've already made arrangements for her to stay at one of our self help facilities."

Justin swallowed again. That was creepy how they knew he'd change his mind.

"If you'll pack your belongings, we'll send a car for you both in half an hour. Don't worry about the mess, we'll take care of everything." There was a click as the line went dead. Justin placed the phone back on the receiver.

"Merè?" he peeked his head into the kitchen. "I've taken care of everything." She looked up from her undrinken tea, starring blankly. "Just stay here, I'll have everything ready. Drink your tea, okay?"

She nodded. Satisfied, he ran back upstairs and found their travel suitcases from ubder their beds, and began to pack.

Half an hour later, they were ushered into a car.

Another hour later, the house was in flames. A tragic end to a nice family of two, the reports said. Both skeletons were found charred black.

Justin didn't bother asking where the second skeleton came from.

* * *

><p>(Scoot is from loiusiana. He speaks Cajun french when he gets really "FFFFOMGWTF"ish xD<p>

Scoot's mama is kinda cracked in the head. Just sayin.')


	33. Anniversary

033. Anniversary

_Tick_

_Tick_

_Tick_

Alistair twitched every time the broken clock made the same sound. Each second counted down to the ninth of August.

Eight, nine, ten...

He tore his eyes from the clock face, growling at himself. A few days ago, after the... Event, at the Park, the three REDs had managed to alert a helicopter. Thinking they were finally going to have a chance to relax, and... Think, none of them had expected to find their pilot had been infected. He was a quick case, claiming he received the wound a few hours before.

After shooting the pilot, they were unable to control the large flying machine, and crashed in a swamp. A week after that and they were all sitting on the deck of a large boat, driven by a fellow Survivor. The man had a calender, up to date.

It seemed unfair. He'd tried to avoid thinking about the Spy, but suddenly he realized, due to the calender, their anniversary was coming up in just a few minutes. It was impossible to NOT think about him.

In just three minutes.

Alistair wiped furiously at his eyes. They stung, but he had to be alert, and keep an eye out for anything until his watch was over.

The owner of the boat, actually named Virgil, mentioned a hunter had leapt aboard and he hadn't noticed until it attacked. That was all he'd said on the subject, after assuring them it was a good two weeks before and he hadn't been bitten.

It wouldn't do for something like that to happen again, especially when they had a chance to escape at this point.

He looked us when the door opened quietly. Surprisingly quiet, he thought, considering the man standing in the frame was the Soldier. He didn't say anything, he just moved awkwardly across the room and sat near the Sniper, looking as if he wanted to say something.

The clock made the sound of an hour passing. Midnight, August Ninth.

Tears he suddenly couldn't hold in ran softly down his scarred cheeks. For the millionth time he clenched his fists until his knuckles shone white. He had a desire to fill the silence with anything, so he said the first thing that came to mind.

"You didn't like him." He said suddenly. "I know that, and I know I was also in breach of contract by loving him." Alistair swallowed, not sure why he felt the need to tell the Soldier this. "But I don't- didn't, care about that. He was… He made me questions things about myself I'd never thought about before. It… Hurt me, for a while, but eventually he filled the void I never knew I'd had."

He looked out the window again, into the pouring rain.

"He's gone now, and I can't help but feel it should have been me, instead… I would give anything to have switched places. I would have rather been a zombie than watch him die like that."

The soldier nodded silently as he listened. He knew what the Sniper meant.

"You know… When the war was over, were we going to take a nice long vacation. I wanted to show him around Australia and he was going to drag me to visit France. He even started me on taking French just before the infection."

"But of course the one person I find, the only one I've ever wanted to be with, in my entire thirty three years of life dies on me. If it weren't for these godamned zombies he would still be alive. If he hadn't been in that hallway, that Smoker would never have gotten him. He would have grabbed one of us instead."

Soldier shifted awkwardly, remembering how the Spy had caused the Smoker to go for him instead.

"You don't know that. That smoker was going after me. It was the way he reacted. And even if he hadn't he still could have caught it from somewhere else."

Alistair didn't reply.

"Just think, you ended it before he turned completely, right?"

he clenched his fist again.

"I killed." He nodded. "Before he changed. I'm not sure if that makes me feel better or worse." With that, the soldier reached over to rest his hand on the Sniper's shoulder.

"Trust me on this one, Sniper. I've left some good men behind even before I joined the REDs. I've made the same choice as you on multiple occasions, and not once have I regretted it. I always told myself would I rather have them alive and suffering, or dead and at peace?"

"...we think differently, mate. Thanks for trying, but... I don't think I'll ever get over the fact I shot him." the rain fell harder. "I don't expect you to understand."

"Well, erm, if you ever need to talk about it to someone who isn't Pyro, then I guess I could listen. Just make sure you don't get yourself killed thinking about it, alright?"

"Maybe that would be better..." Alistair said quietly. It was such a low mumble the Soldier took a few seconds to figure out what he;pd said.

"I will NOT stand for that." He barked, standing so abruptly his chair fell over backwards. Alistair recoiled as the man shoved a finger in his face.

"That is the word of a coward, maggot! You are not a coward! I won't tolerate such spineless words from you. If you let yourself die I will personally drag your ghost from hell and kill you myself!" he backed up, out of his face, and stood straight as a pin. "Am I clear, maggot?"

"..yeah. Sorry, I was just... I don't know what I was doing, I won't let it happen again."

"It better not happen again. I don't know any other Snipers good enough to take your place when we get back to base."

Without waiting for a reply the Soldier stormed out of the room, slamming the door quietly. Alistair waited until the man's footsteps died out before righting his fallen chair.

He stared out the window into the rain, the odd tick of the clock ion his ears,

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick._

* * *

><p><em>(Okay, so the part where Ally starts talking about Claude I wrote all in English class after Donnally didnlt cjhange the journal question from teh creatiove writing one. So he played music and we all wrote stories, and I wrote all this. Even though he said 'just write a few paragraphs' xD Oh well.<em>

_I still feel bad for killing Claude ;A; And I think Ally still hates me xD)_


	34. Give Up

034. Give Up

"You heard the man, ladies." Elliot cocked his shotgun and stared down his team. "Soon as that bridge is down, we make a run for that helicopter."

"Got it." Alistair nodded. Desmond gave a similar muffled reply. The three watched the bridge crawl towards them, until it finally stopped with a hiss and the barrier fell.

"Go!" Elliot ordered, breaking into a run. It wasn't long before they caught sight of the first infected. Before it even had time to react, it was blasted backwards with a shot from the Soldier's shotgun. As soon as the zombie fell and they emerged from the passage between two buses, every infected on the bridge knew they were there.

A loud, familiar chilling shriek filled their ears. Gritting his teeth, Alistair swung his Kukri, viciously removing arms, heads, and other appendages from the virus-ravaged bodies. He kept close to the others, noting the sides of the bridge were wide open and led to a watery grave below.

"Ur hurr ur burmur!" Desmond yelled a warning. Alistair located the boomer quickly, pointing it out for Elliot. Specks of bile landed on his sullied vest, though not enough to make him a beacon for the infected. Remembering the bile he'd found in the safe house, he unclipped it and threw it far ahead with a quick warning to his team.

Suddenly the infected turned and ran for the other end of the bridge, fighting over an empty cloud of bile. Elliot called Desmond and Alistair to a ladder on the back of a truck. They climbed to the top and ran over buses and cars while the infected were distracted. By the time it wore off, they were climbing a collapsed section of the bridge.

Just as they cleared the top, something heavy landed on his back, and sharp claws dug into his skin.

"Hunter!" He called out, attempting to fight it off, though it was difficult when he couldn't see it. Luckily for him, Desmond came to his immediate rescue, knocking the hunter away and smashing the sharp edge of his axe into its head.

"Thanks, mate." Alistair said with a wince, taking the offered hand of the Pyro.

"Hurry it up!" Elliot growled. "We don't have all day before that helicopter leaves us." He and Desmond hauled Alistair back to his feet, where he wobbled unsteadily for a moment, but recovered and in no time they were off again.

The time they'd spent had been enough for the faster infected to catch them. Hacking and shooting away, they slowly made progress. The thought of the helicopter leaving them for dead was strong in their minds. They didn't dare slow down, even Alistair, though his back stung and tore with every step.

"Great, there's a tank up ahead!" Elliot ducked behind a truck as a car sailed overhead. Alistair and Desmond followed. The Tank roared and barrelled through trucks and fallen iron, the bridge vibrating madly under its less-than-graceful strides.

"If we distract it, you can get on its back and take it down." Elliot ordered over a loud yell. At least for the moment the only sounds were him and the tank. For once the commons were reluctant to approach them, at least until either the tank was dead, or it knocked them all down where the commons would be able to dispatch them with ease. Desmond and Alistair agreed wordlessly. Despite the sting, Alistair scaled the side of the truck, wary of sailing cars, and looked for something to gain its attention.

Luckily for the Sniper, a fallen common lay stretched across the truck's back. Without a thought he swung his kukri, severing an arm with a few harsh whacks. He grabbed the limb and with a yell, threw it at the tank.

The arm landed dead in its face, causing it to stumble and gave Elliot opportunity to get in close with his shotgun, and Desmond a chance to judge his throw. He'd found a much heavier weapon to throw, and it being a chunk of concrete, smashed a considerably large hole in the Tank's head. While down, Alistair leapt from the top of the truck and landed on its back, driving his Kukri deep into it. He attempted to remove the large knife, but it was stuck fast in the flailing, livid creature.

Wasting no time, he stumbled off the creature, who despite the sharp metal in its back, was rising back to its feet and screaming murder. Alistair avoided a wild swing of its arm and headed back to his waiting team, Elliot covering him from his previous truck-top perch.

"Watch out!" Alistair turned his head just in time for a punch to knock him back. He yelled as he flew out over the water, falling for an eternity before hitting the smooth surface with a loud smack and sinking below. It took a moment for his shocked body to regain control, but as soon as it did he fought and kicked against the waves, breaking the surface and sucking in gasps of fresh air. He was surprised to see how far he went.

It almost looked like the bridge was miles above him, but that was unlikely. He would have been crushed on impact if it was. Still, it hurt. Slowly the effects of the punch and the landing made his body scream. Every move he made sent pain rippling through his body.

He held himself still, but floated with his head over the water, wondering why he'd allowed himself to sail off the bridge.

"Sniper!" Elliot yelled. He could see him peer down the edge of the bridge, seeing him. "We'll get you back up!" He called down when he noticed the Sniper was still alive.

Alistair shook his head. "Keep going! I can see the shore, I'll swim for it!" He'd just as soon drown himself than let his team mates jump in after him, or waste their chance for rescue. A shriek filled his ears.

"You better be there, you got it hippie?" He called back down, not bothering for a reply before disappearing, Shotgun blasts and death cries filled the air. It was just him now. He eyed the distant shore. He might make it.

Ignoring his screaming muscles and aching bones, he forced himself to move. As far as he knew, he was safe in the water. Unless any form of aquatic zombie was below, he would be okay.

He didn't feel any closer to the shoreline, and his arms felt ready to refuse his commands. His body was too tired to even float at this point. His head bobbed under water several times, to a point he felt as if he were breathing in more water than air. His eyes felt heavy from the sting of salt. He held them shut to rest them as he moved, using the sounds as a guide.

Next thing he knew, the helicopter's platform wasn't so far. He might make it, if he could just swim faster. His heart sank slightly when he caught a tank near the end of the bridge. It was headed for the direction of the helicopter. Their only way out. If the tank destroyed it, or the soldiers were spooked by the tank's appearance they were as good as dead.

Then he caught sight of Desmond and Elliot, clearing the final stretch of the bridge and hopping down towards a bus. Shots rang out from his shotgun. Fire lit up the monster like a book of dry parchment. Alistair swam harder, surprised when he managed to reach a short stretch of land. Climbing up the fence was short work for him, and he stood unsteadily on the solid concrete of the helicopter's landing pad.

By the time he reached the machine he was dead tired and collapsed on a seat just as the others made it inside.

"Told you I could swim it." He muttered breathlessly. Elliot nodded approvingly. The three rested as the helicopter took them away.

* * *

><p>(Yay, I love the start and hate the finish 8'D Oh and Solly has name now .w.)<p> 


	35. Past

035. Past

Marcel stared blankly into his coffee. It was bitter and black, fitting his mood perfectly. Across from him was the opposite: Iced green tea, two sugars and a lemon on the rim. Sipping the very tea sat his partner in crime, if you would even call her that. What she was to him was more a fall back plan. Not that he'd needed her, of course.

You see, he was a very good spy. His skills even impress me, but then again, he wasn't a very good spy. He was neither. He was barely even a Spy, at this point.

Exactly Seven thirty-seven, ten seconds past the mark, the pair had entered the bank. She was herself, and he wasn't. His face had been covered by a variety of disguise masks. He was everyone but himself. He had information for every identity he played. Sums large and small were taken from accounts of wealthy members.

Of course no one noticed. He was just that great at his job. He wore a blue pinstripe suit, which proved him true. Of course, he was also a very bad Spy. He didn't need the suit to prove it.

In the end, it should have been only him. He'd taken the first shot from the shadows, after she'd drawn her gun and declared a robbery. Unknowing to her, he'd already taken the money. A good one million, at the least.

Disposable, used, a loose end easily tied.

In the end, she was supposed to die. She didn't. Now they were here, in a café, having coffee and tea. Together. It should have been him, and him alone, but he wasn't alone. He was never alone, even though a spy should never be accompanied by anyone.

Sitting safely in his rented car was the money. Across from him, was her. She was brimming with excitement, adrenaline, no doubt, still coursing through her veins, but...

She wouldn't be for long, and he wouldn't be here either, with his darkened mood and fancy suit.

Remember when I said she was a fall back plan to him? I lied. You can't trust the narrator, remember? She was more than that. She was more than everything for him. Everything for this lonely Builder's League United Spy; and because of her, he was going to die. Unless...

Yes, unless. There's always a second choice. A choice he wouldn't enjoy making, but it was a choice he would have to make.

He isn't a very good spy, if you couldn't tell. You should know, because I've told you.

Do you know why? He allowed himself to grow close to her. Do you remember all that stuff I said they did? I lied about it.

He sat there, staring into his coffee, and she sat across from him, excited. Excited indeed, but not because she robbed a bank.

He robbed the bank.

She was never supposed to die in a fire fight. She didn't even know he was robbing the bank. He robbed the bank on his own. She was there to help him rob the bank, but she didn't know he was robbing the bank because if she'd known he would have never robbed the bank because she wouldn't have helped him and her help was the reason he could rob the bank.

Am I confusing you?

I'm sorry, let me rephrase.

Marcel is a Spy. A good spy, but a bad Spy. He has failed to rob the bank for his company, but he still robbed the bank for her. She helped him, but she didn't know she helped him, because he didn't tell her he robbed the bank.

There's really no way to explain what I'm saying, but I'm sure you'll understand in the end. All that you need to know right now is how happy she was. Marcel wasn't very happy, of course.

So he stared deeply into his coffee, thinking, planning, and wondering if he would get out alive. Wondered if she would get out alive. If they would get out alive together, with enough money to relocate and hide from the Builder's League United. There was only one way he could think of.

He stood abruptly, a sound catching his ear. She paused, looking at him. The others in the small café didn't notice the sound. He shook his head and apologized, claiming his foot had gone numb from disuse. She brushed it off with her smile and nodded.

He wasn't sure what the sound was, or where it came from. I know what the sound was, and where it came from, but I won't tell you. I hope you can figure it out on your own, because I won't ever tell. If he was a good spy, he would tell you instead. But he's not a good spy. He's a bad spy: A terrible spy. The worst spy a spy could ever be.

The terribly bad Spy shook his head again and sat down, reaching for his cooling coffee. It was so bitter he nearly cringed. It was that moment he realized there was only one real choice left. Calmly, he reached for his Ambassador. He changed his mind. No, not here.

Too many people to stop him. No, he would wait. Or would he? This part was always a little hazy to myself and him. Next thing he knew, it was noon. They were outside. She was next to him with her head turned away and examining something far off. With her arm wrapped loosely around his, he made the decision.

He held his Ambassador inches from her head. She didn't know. Or did she? Maybe he didn't have the gun out at all. I could be lying again. Perhaps, at that moment, he sunk his blade in her skin. Cold metal meeting warm flesh, tearing, bleeding, hurting deeply.

Whatever happened there, three minutes and seventeen seconds after twelve noon, he became a good spy. She lay in her pool of blood, and he stood bathed in the spray.

He was a good spy again. The last loose end was tied. She was dead. He was dead, but he was a good spy; a very good spy... Marcel was a good spy.

He left, located his rented car, slipped in the drivers seat. He didn't look back.

That's how he became a bad spy, and changed alliance. His blue pinstripe suit, an emblem of his class was now red. Stained with blood, a cheap red dye, and he was a disgrace. A bad, bad spy. She was dead. He was dead. They were all dead. It was the end of his story, and the beginning of it.

He was happy. They were safe.

He saw her every month. She hated him. She loved him. I always hated this part of the story, because...

In the end, she was supposed to die.

* * *

><p>Are you confused? xD I wrote this for school.<p>

Marcel was a BLU Spy before he was a RED Spy. three guesses who 'SHE' is.


	36. Mischief Managed

036. Mischief Managed

Bennett looked around the small, unfamiliar room. He didn't remember much about his arrival. In fact, the throb in his head told him he was most likely knocked out. But by who? Who would bring him to this small dusty space?

He thought harder and recalled a flash of red. Red…

RED.

He must have been captured while scouting for a new perch. But why wasn't he chained to a chair for interrogation, or locked in one of the cells under base? He stood up swiftly as a quiet whoosh of air brushed his ear. The whoosh was the answer to his questions.

A masked face appeared in front of him. The Sniper groaned mentally.

"You again." His voice was laced with poisonous sarcasm. "What **pleasure** do I owe your visit **this** time?" The Spy grinned, pleased with the Sniper's annoyance, no doubt.

"You'll see." He waved an envelope in his face. The tip caught his hat and knocked it loose. Bennett snatched the envelop with a growl, muttering insults and righting his hat. At least now he knew he wasn't in the RED base. If he were, Marcel wouldn't risk showing him this new piece of evidence.

"You could've just told me to meet you here. You spies are all too spook-like."

"It comes with the job." He blinked. "Besides, last time I approached you for a meeting you jammed your knife through my left lung." His gaze turned bitter for a moment before regaining his composure. "Are you going to open it or not?"

"I'll open it when I bloody well feel like it." Bennett snapped back. Despite the reply, he tore open the envelop and pulled out a paper full of numbers and letters. It made his brain hurt just looking at the rows of small writing.

"What am I looking at?"

"Ah, so you have no clue either." The Spy began to pace. "It looks like some sort of code. I've already asked our Engineer but he has no clue what they mean either." He shook his head. "I know it's important. It could very well solve the whole puzzle. But we need someone who can decode it."

"Yes, someone else who can easily decipher anything." He pulled a small photo from his pocket. Bennett recognized his Spy and Marcel's Sniper. "Show the paper to your Spy. I've heard of his skills, and I know we can trust him. Unless he wants the administrator to find out about his relations with Alistair at least."

"If you can't figure this gibberish out, then what makes you think he can?"

"As I said, I hear he can decipher almost anything thrown his way. And even if he can't figure it all out, having three people working on it is better than just the two of us. Perhaps even four, if we can convince Alistair to join us. If your Spy agrees then I'm sure my Sniper will."

"Or he'll give us away."

"He won't. Trust me on this."

"Asking me to trust you is like asking a snake to pet sit a mouse." He shoved the paper in his pocket. "You better hope this works out, because I won't be so quick to do it again."

"That's all I ask." Marcel replied. "If it doesn't work then I won't bother you at work for a month."

"That's what you say." He shook his head, ignoring the Spy. "So far this case isn't exactly moving in our favour, is it?"

"Not in the least." Marcel brought out a small notepad and pen. "We can say the Administrator is working for both sides. We can confirm it has something to do with the Nucleus map. We can even say she stole blueprints from Blutarch Mann. But unless we can tie it all together, we're going nowhere but an early grave."

"Tell me something I don't know." Bennett replied blankly and eyed his watch. Marcel mirrored his actions and hummed as he realized how late it had gotten.

"You'd best return to your base before your team grows suspicious. Remember to bring your Spy." Before Bennett could ask where the Spy had taken him, he was gone with the whoosh of his cloaking device. He sighed heavily and made his way outside to look for anything familiar.

Luckily for him, he could tell how far his base was. He was closer to the RED side than he normally went, but would no doubt be able to sneak back to his own unnoticed.

Or so he hoped. No sooner had he re-entered the large blue building, he was pulled aside and shoved in a closet.

"What is it with you Spies and shoving people into small rooms?" He complained once he realized who it was.

"My apologies, I just needed to remove you from the camera's sight." The BLU Spy replied. "So what happened this time? I assume you weren't out enjoying the pollution, right?"

"Yeah, Red Spy has more evidence." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled paper. "He wanted me to 'convince' you to decipher whatever alien language this is. Also meaning you can officially join the group."

"Brilliant. No more sneaking around, then." He scanned the paper. "This is... A lot. Has he tried anything yet?"

"He didn't say. I suppose we'll have to work on it by ourselves for now."

"I see." The BLU Spy neatly folded the paper and tucked it into his pocket. "i will start now. You should go to bed. Our next mission starts in three hours."

"That's wonderful." bennett found himself yawning at the mention of sleep. He was just about to leave when he remembered something else.

"I almost forgot, you and that Sniper need to be more careful. The RED Spy fancies himself a photographer."

"...of course... We will be more careful from now on." The pair then separated and left for their rooms. The Spy, to decipher the message, and the Sniper, to get in a hasty three hour night before the mission began.

* * *

><p>(I wrote this for school again... xD)<p> 


	37. Reflection

037. Reflection

In his room, there was a mirror. The mirror was his voice. His reflection, in that silvery mirror. His eyes were dark, but now they glimmered bright, with an unearthly shine as he stared himself down.

What was there to do?

He tore his eyes from the image; mind squeezed tight within his skull. It made him hurt. Why did he look? The voice was yelling, silent but yelling.

Yes, what was there to do. There was nothing he could do. Nothing. It was like an insensate calling; it never left. It scratched and clawed, yelled and screamed. "The others know! They watch you, and they know how dirty you are!"

He shook his head furiously. No, they didn't! The voice knew nothing: only HE knew, the voice... Knew... Nothing... THEY, knew NOTHING.

He gripped the ragged table's edge tight, sending rough splinters deep into his palms. It was then the voice calmed down. If he was hurt, the voice felt pain too. He could tell, because the voice would gasp and scrunch its face with pain. He could see it through the mirror.

He didn't always have the voice, but he couldn't remember a time when he was alone, either. Every time he looked in that mirror, he remembered only the voice. The voice desperately hated, but the only one who knew him, ad his secrets. Why he shivered in the dark, or threw himself against the wall. The one that separated him from...

What, exactly? He didn't know what was on the other side. He only knew the voice wouldn't let him leave.

It was his only choice. He had to get rid of it.

A sudden flash of rage blinded him, and he reached for the mirror. The glass cracked and the metal dented as it hit the table again and again. Shards of glass flew everywhere. He threw the mirror against the wall.

The voice was still there, calling out over the violence and demanding he stop, but... He didn't. No, the voice needed to disappear. Desperate to shut it up, he screamed as loud as his scratchy unused voice would allow. Nothing would drown it out.

Finally he collapsed on the floor and curled into a ball, shuddering.

The voice had won once again.

Watching this entire spectacle from an observation box, the administrator smiled. He was turning out just the way she needed him.

"Tell the Dustbowl team to expect a new medic. I think it's about time we recycle our old BLUs."

* * *

><p>(A look inside Alois's mind before he is sent to Dustbowl as a Medic. Silly thing was already insane and he agreed to let the Administator screw with his brain xD<p>

Well, not that he consented. or will remember.)


	38. Breath

038. Breath

Xan'the woke with a breeze flowing over her face. Immediately she shot up, panicking. He hands went to her face where she felt her nose, eyes and lips. Where was her mask? She looked down. Her suit was shredded, showing her underclothes.

She climbed unsteadily to her feet, sliding on the uneven surface of her downed ship. What was that itch in her throat? Was she already dead? She searched the wreckage frantically for her mask, only to have a miniature panic attack as she realized it was spilit clean in half.

'Relax, relax, just find the spare...' Xan'the pushed through wreckage and past the cockpit where her spare was and-

It was gone. It must have been knocked loose.

'I'm going to die here, aren't I?' She thought to herself. She didn't even know how she managed to get wherever she was. A bright light shone in her face as she was piloting the Relic, and... She was in an unfamiliar space, with an unknown life signal.

The air could very well be poisonous, or the gravity could be too heavy and as soon as she left the still-compressed ship she would be crushed. Xan'The pulled out her omni-tool and searched the star charts, but was unable to find her location. The gravity reading was slightly lighter than normal, and toxicity in the air was low enough to breathe.

But that wouldn't matter now that her filter mask was cracked and her spare was gone. She could have a range of infections inside her at that very moment. She suddenly couldn't breathe, and clutched at her throat, trying to pull away whatever invisible noose held her tight. Air wouldn't make its way to her lungs, and her head began to swim dangerously.

She leaned against the wall and slid down, waiting for the moment to end. Unless it wouldn't end. Maybe she was wrong about the air. Perhaps it was poisonous after all. Maybe, maybe she-

"Okay, okay." Scout cut her off and shook his head. "Even I won't believe something that crazy."

"I agree vith zhe Scout." Medic added.

"Unless you got proof, don't think any of us can believe." the Engineer finished.

"Furn. Urthur wur, Ur turld ur wure Ur curm frum." She replied, crossing her arms and turning away.

* * *

><p>(I had soemthing with this then I lost it 8'D YAY *shot*<p>

Personally, I say pyro is a guy. But I like the idea of the Pyro being a Quarian. I also would like to please bth end of the fan spectrum by having a half girl/half guy pyro combo. Desmond is the RED Pyro, and Xan'the is the BLU pyro.

By the way. Quarians, YOUR NAMES, OMG. WHY? WHY ARE YOU SO HARD TO MAKE?)


End file.
